§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of bed-and-breakfast businesses which were assessed for non-domestic rates for 1989–90; and what proportion of the total of such businesses were so assessed in each region and islands area.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe information requested is not available centrally. We are aware that there have been differences in the criteria adopted by regional assessors in deciding whether a bed-and-breakfast establishment should be entered on the valuation roll. In order to ensure a consistent approach in the future, we propose to clarify in legislation the boundary between domestic and non-domestic in the case of bed-and-breakfast establishments. We have been consulting interested parties on our proposals, and are now studying the many responses received before bringing forward appropriate regulations to limit the liability for non-domestic rates to those establishments clearly being run as a business.