Business Rates Avoidance Schemes

Lord Sahota Excerpts

Wednesday 16th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

I do not know the figure off the top of my head, but I can look into it and write to the noble Baroness with the answer.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, years ago, when I was a council leader, we had some instances where there were really large buildings lying empty, so the landlords would have to pay some form of business rent on them. What they did was put a desk and a chair inside for a charity, so that they did not have to pay any business rates. Because the landlords had to pay such a large amount in rates, they would pay something to the charity. Are the Government aware of that kind of scam?

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

We know that quite a few scams are going on. The industry—if I can call it that—has a very good way of evolving, changing and adapting, which is why we do not want to make any policy decisions prior to the Budget. They morph into other kinds of entity, and we want to stop that. We want to crack down on the wide range of scams going on. A general anti-avoidance rule may be the answer.

UK Entrepreneurs

Lord Sahota Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, most of the 95% of UK businesses, which employ something like 16 million people, will not be affected by any of the tax rises. I do not wish to remind noble Lords of the black hole we inherited, but we had to make difficult decisions to restore economic stability and fund our public services. We are doing the hard job early and fixing the foundations in one. After all the chopping, changing and chaos of the last few years, we now have a stable, pro-business, pro-worker Labour Government, offering certainty, consistency and confidence. That is what investors, businesses and entrepreneurs want.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, in spite of Black Friday and the run-up to Christmas, many small high street businesses report low footfall and a concern about their continued viability. Many of those businesses will be looking forward to the Government’s business rate reform. Could the Minister outline what other steps will be taken to support Britain’s high streets and to safeguard their place at the heart of our communities?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, high streets are the beating heart of our communities, but for far too long, too many of them have been neglected and more and more empty lots are boarded up. We are giving local councils the tools to take back control, putting local communities first, re-energising town centres and driving local communities and opportunities. New measures were announced in the Budget to freeze the small business multiplier for most properties; to lower business rates for leisure, retail and hospitality; and to provide access to finance, committing some £250 million in 2025-26 for small business loans. Now shutters on our great British high streets will be lifted, delivering real action across the board.

House of Lords: Regional Representativeness

Lord Sahota Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

My noble friend introduces a new argument into this much-debated subject, which is normally, as today, led by the noble Lord, Lord Grocott. Hereditary Peers continue to be elected by the different party groups and indeed by the Cross Benches. Changes to that, as we know, would have significant constitutional implications, and as yet there is no consensus on change.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

I have to say that I often agree with the noble Baroness opposite, and I agree with her that less is often more. I am very glad that we have two members of the Green Party in this House, because diversity of thought as well as of other aspects is very important to intelligent debate and scrutiny of legislation, in committees and on SIs, and to everything else that we do painstakingly every day.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, now that Britain is a truly diverse and multifaith society, do the Government have any plan to appoint scholars or preachers of other faiths in the House of Lords as they do the Bishops?

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

We have an established Church, and that is reflected in our Bench of Bishops, who contribute such good challenge to the Government of the day. I have explained the process of putting forward Members of the House of Lords by the main parties and others, and one thing they take into account is religions. Personally, I feel that it is very important to hear from different religions across the country.