Baroness Keeley
Main Page: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)(13 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Pickles
If business rates go through the roof, they will be caught by the “disproportionate” rule and those sums will be taken away and distributed to poorer areas. This was designed to help councils such as Barnsley to retain local growth. The figures that I have seen—we received some figures from Barnsley during the recent settlement—did not appear to be entirely accurate. I am happy to work with the hon. Gentleman to get the best possible deal for Barnsley.
Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)
Ministers—[Interruption]—have already made savage front-loaded cuts to council budgets, and now they want to top-slice the proceeds of business rate growth which they promised to local councils. Localising business rate growth should give local authorities an incentive to grow their business base and to create jobs. Will the Minister explain just how central Government’s top-slicing of business rate growth can provide that proper incentive? Is it not just another hit on local government finance?
Mr Pickles
The hon. Lady was clearly missed by Members on her side of the House, and indeed by those on ours, judging by that welcome.
The only top-slicing that will take place is with regard to disproportionate gains, and I am pretty confident that Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster councils will see enormous increases in their rates. It is only right that we take that money away and see that it is distributed to other parts of the country, such as to Barnsley. I would have thought that she would support that.