Land Covenants: Supermarket Chains
Debate between Lord Stockwood and Lord Sharpe of Epsom(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Stockwood (Lab)
The CMA has a broad primary and competition regulatory framework. It is equipped with the powers to investigate and to act against anti-competitive conduct. On the specific question about the digital Bill, I will have to consult with colleagues and come back to the noble Lord; I am not familiar with it.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
My Lords, we all recognise the importance of competition, not just for economic growth but for the competitive pressure that keeps prices low for consumers. As the Minister has acknowledged, it is obviously not fair that some large retailers operate under different rules. At the same time, however, the fairness test fails when one considers this Government’s business rate policies. Does the Minister think it is fair that business rates will rise by 115% on hotels over three years but only 4% on supermarkets?
Lord Stockwood (Lab)
Taking a broad perspective on the question, I came into government to support the pro-business agenda. What the Government are trying to enact is the ability to stabilise the economy based on fiscal rules, to create an investment environment that is investable from all parts of the market, and then, importantly, to look at regulation to enforce that fairness and sense of competitive tension. The Government are committed to reforming the business rates regime, and that work has already begun. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced a permanent 5p cut in the business rates multiplier for over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, which is also funded by the higher tax rate for the most expensive 1% of properties. We continue to take feedback to try to create the right fiscal conditions for businesses to be able to thrive.
Hospitality Businesses
Debate between Lord Stockwood and Lord Sharpe of Epsom(3 weeks, 4 days ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Sharpe of Epsom
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support hospitality businesses.
The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury (Lord Stockwood) (Lab)
My Lords, hospitality businesses are fundamental to the life of our communities. As such, we are introducing permanently lower business rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, and a £4.3 billion support package over three years to shield rate payers from bill increases following the revaluation. In addition, the Chancellor announced earlier today that every pub and live music venue will receive 50% off their new business rates on top of this support, and bills will be frozen for two years. Moving forward, we will review the valuation methodology for pubs and hotels as well.
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)
My Lords, the Government’s announcements are welcome, as far as they go, and will provide some short-term relief to three out of four pubs, but in three years’ time, when the discounts and the freeze end, bills will still rise by 76%. Also, there was nothing for hotels beyond a review of valuation methodology, despite the fact that hotels’ rates will rise by 115% over three years. Why do the Government not just apply the 20p discount that is allowed in legislation across the entire hospitality sector, instead of the current 5p? That proposal has the virtue of being much simpler and cleaner than endless reviews and freezes. Why is this relief restricted to three years, and when will the review of hotel rates be delivered?
Lord Stockwood (Lab)
Business rate reform has been on the agenda for the last number of Parliaments and this Government have taken it on. Since I came into government six months ago, I have been proud that our overall objectives have been about stability in our economy, bringing down inflation—it is on target for next year—and making sure that consumers have more money that they can spend in the hospitality industry. Alongside that, the review of overall business rates and the commitment of £4.3 billion mean that over a third of businesses will pay no business rates, over half of ratepayers will see no increases and 23% will see their bills going down. This is funded by targeting those with higher rateable values. Overall, while the main thing is bringing stability to the economy and bringing inflation down to make sure that consumers are spending, reform of revaluation is increasingly important as well.