HC Deb 26 March 2001 vol 365 cc427-31W
Mr. Luff

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will conclude his consideration of the further business rate relief he will provide to those indirectly affected by foot and mouth disease; and if this relief will be extended to the self-catering holiday accommodation sector. [155250]

Mr. Meacher

[holding answer 23 March 2001]As I indicated in my statement to the House on 20 March, the Government will underwrite 95 per cent. of local authority costs in offering discretionary hardship rate relief to businesses badly affected by foot and mouth disease.

Any type of businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or less in rural local authority districts, which adopt the scheme, will be eligible for a reduction of up to £1,290 for a three month period, provided they can show that they have suffered serious economic loss through the impact of foot and mouth disease. For some businesses this could amount to all of their rate bill for the period in question. The scheme will allow impacts beyond three months to be kept under review.

Businesses with properties above £12,000 rateable value level affected by Foot and Mouth disease will be eligible to benefit from existing loca1 authority hardship relief provisions in which Government meet 75 per cent. of the cost.

The scheme will be available in the rural local authorities as set out in the list.

Rural Local Authorities

For rural rate relief announcement 22 March 2001

North East

  • Alnwick
  • Berwick-upon-Tweed
  • Castle Morpeth
  • Derwentside
  • Durham
  • Easington
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • Sedgefield
  • Teesdale
  • Tynedale
  • Wear Valley

North West

  • Allerdale
  • Carlisle
  • Chester
  • Congleton
  • Copeland
  • Crewe and Nantwich
  • Eden
  • Ellesmere Port and Neston
  • Lancaster
  • Pendle
  • Ribble Valley
  • South Lakeland
  • Vale Royal
  • Wyre

Yorkshire and the Humber

  • Craven
  • East Riding of Yorkshire UA
  • Hambleton
  • Harrogate
  • North Lincolnshire UA
  • Richmondshire
  • Ryedale
  • Scarborough
  • Selby

East Midlands

  • Bassetlaw
  • Boston
  • Daventry
  • Derbyshire Dales
  • East Lindsey
  • East Northamptonshire
  • Harborough
  • High Peak
  • Hinckley and Bosworth
  • Melton
  • Newark and Sherwood
  • North Kesteven
  • North West Leicestershire
  • Rushcliffe
  • Rutland UA
  • South Derbyshire
  • South Holland
  • South Kesteven
  • South Northamptonshire
  • West Lindsey

West Midlands

  • Bridgnorth
  • East Staffordshire
  • Herefordshire UA
    • 429W
  • Malvern Hills
  • North Shropshire
  • North Warwickshire
  • Oswestry
  • Shrewsbury and Atcham
  • South Shropshire
  • South Staffordshire
  • Staffordshire Moorlands
  • Stratford-on-Avon
  • Wychavon

East

  • Babergh
  • Braintree
  • Breckland
  • Broadland
  • East Cambridgeshire
  • East Hertfordshire
  • Fenland
  • Forest Heath
  • Huntingdonshire
  • Kings Lynn and West Norfolk
  • Maldon
  • Mid Bedfordshire
  • Mid Suffolk
  • North Norfolk
  • South Bedfordshire
  • South Cambridgeshire
  • South Norfolk
  • St. Edmundsbury
  • Suffolk Coastal
  • Tendring
  • Uttlesford
  • Waveney

South East

  • Arun
  • Ashford
  • Aylesbury Vale
  • Canterbury
  • Cherwell
  • Chichester
  • Chiltern
  • Dover
  • East Hampshire
  • Horsham
  • Isle of Wight UA
  • Lewes
  • Maidstone
    • 430W
  • Mid Sussex
  • New Forest
  • Rother
  • Sevenoaks
  • Shepway
  • South Oxfordshire
  • Tandridge
  • Test Valley
  • Thanet
  • Tonbridge and Malling
  • Tunbridge Wells
  • Vale of White Horse
  • Waverley
  • Wealden
  • West Berkshire UA (Newbury)
  • West Oxfordshire
  • Winchester
  • Wycombe

South West

  • Caradon
  • Carrick
  • Cotswold
  • East Devon
  • East Dorset
  • Forest of Dean
  • Isles of Scilly
  • Kennet
  • Kerrier
  • Mendip
  • Mid Devon
  • North Cornwall
  • North Devon
  • North Dorset
  • North Wiltshire
  • Penwith
  • Purbeck
  • Restormel
  • Salisbury
  • Sedgemoor
  • South Hams
  • South Somerset
  • Stroud
  • Taunton Deane
  • Teignbridge
  • Tewkesbury
  • Torridge
  • West Devon
  • West Dorset
  • West Somerset
  • West Wiltshire.

Mr. Webb

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which parts of South Gloucestershire Unitary Authority come within the scope of the proposed measures to assist rural areas with the consequences of foot and mouth disease set out in his oral statement of 20 March. [155304]

Mr. Meacher

[holding answer 23 March 2001]Wherever they are located, rural businesses experiencing financial hardship as a consequence of foot and mouth disease will benefit from the Government's commitment to give them sympathetic treatment on tax and other payments as set out in my statement of 20 March 2001,Official Report, column 191. The increase from 75 per cent. to 95 per cent. in the contribution to the cost of rate relief is being made available to the most rural authorities. South Gloucestershire is not one of these.