Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Member for Pendle has perambulated from one part of the Chamber to the other, but we are nevertheless happy to hear from him.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

T7. Local business rates retention will be a great boost for many local councils. What discussions has my hon. Friend had with local authorities about 100% retention?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Marcus Jones)]

This is a reform for which local government has long campaigned and in which my hon. Friend has shown great interest. To deliver the commitment, we held an open consultation that invited councils and businesses to have their say and have established a joint steering group with the Local Government Association to consider the mechanisms needed to set up and run the new system.