Draft Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (Business Rate Supplements Functions) Order 2018

Monday 16th July 2018 General Committees

The Committee consisted of the following Members:

Chair: Phil Wilson

Afriyie, Adam (Windsor) (Con)

Benyon, Richard (Newbury) (Con)

† Berry, Jake (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Cadbury, Ruth (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)

† Eagle, Maria (Garston and Halewood) (Lab)

† Elliott, Julie (Sunderland Central) (Lab)

† Elmore, Chris (Ogmore) (Lab)

† Harrison, Trudy (Copeland) (Con)

† Hughes, Eddie (Walsall North) (Con)

† McMahon, Jim (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)

McGovern, Alison (Wirral South) (Lab)

† Morgan, Stephen (Portsmouth South) (Lab)

Murray, Ian (Edinburgh South) (Lab)

Pawsey, Mark (Rugby) (Con)

† Tolhurst, Kelly (Rochester and Strood) (Con)

† Vickers, Martin (Cleethorpes) (Con)

† Whately, Helen (Faversham and Mid Kent) (Con)

Adam Mellows-Facer, Committee Clerk

† attended the Committee

Sixth Delegated Legislation Committee

Monday 16 July 2018

[Phil Wilson in the Chair]

Draft Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (Business Rate Supplements Functions) Order 2018

18:00

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Jake Berry)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (Business Rate Supplements Functions) Order 2018.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Wilson. The draft order, which was laid before the House on 7 June, will confer on the Liverpool city region combined authority the power to raise a business rate supplement, to be exercised by the Mayor. This is a similar power to the mayoral infrastructure supplement included in the Government’s devolution agreement with Liverpool city region. I commend the order to the Committee.

18:00

[Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)]

No objection, Mr Wilson.

18:01

[Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Wilson.

I do not object to the order in any way. It is a welcome, although very modest, measure enabling the combined authority to raise some of its own finance in certain circumstances. I hope that the Minister will go on to think about other ways we might give more genuine power to the combined authority.

I hope that we will see the Minister again in due course with more real devolved power for the combined authority.

18:01

[Jake Berry]

I take the hon. Lady’s comments on board. I note that this is one of many powers that the Government have given, and as a Scouser born and bred—which I believe she is not, although she recently accused me in the papers of not knowing where Liverpool was, I think—I am happy with any Government policy that returns more power to the great people of Liverpool. The Mayor, of course, has the power to raise his own precept if he wants, to enable him to have more money to spend on exercising his function in the combined authority.

Question put and agreed to.

18:02

Committee rose.