§ Mr. Arnoldasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether hereditaments which straddle the Belfast enterprise zone boundary are eligible for the exemption from rates which applies to industrial and commercial property in the zone.
§ Mr. David MitchellThe Government's intention has been that the exemption from rates applicable to non-domestic hereditaments in enterprise zones should apply to those parts of straddling hereditaments lying inside the zones. It appears, however, that the legislation governing the rates exemption provision in Northern Ireland—part IV of the Enterprise Zones (Northern Ireland) Order 1981—in common with the comparable legislation in Great Britain does not provide the correct statutory basis for such partial exemptions.
An early opportunity will be taken to introduce amending legislation in Northern Ireland similar to that proposed for Great Britain. In the interim I propose to make extra-statutory payments enabling apportioned rating relief to be paid on parts of hereditaments falling within the Belfast enterprise zone boundary and to reimburse Belfast city council for the revenue it would otherwise have received.
The appropriation accounts of the Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) will be noted at the end of each financial year to show the sums involved which I estimate will not exceed £1,000 in 1981–82 and £2,000 in 1982–83.