Non-Domestic Rating (Nursery Grounds) Bill

Baroness Pinnock Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Tuesday 24th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Pinnock (LD)]

My Lords, I draw your Lordships’ attention to my relevant interests as a councillor on Kirklees Council, a vice-president of the Local Government Association and a member of the Royal Horticultural Society.

We on these Benches fully support the purpose of this Bill, which, as other noble Lords have said, is to address an anomaly arising from a court case in 2015. I thank the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, for raising some significant questions on the process that led to the court case which I hope the Minister will be able to answer, either today or in a letter.

I have some comments and questions for the Minister in relation to this short Bill. The first is on the definition of “nursery grounds”. The Government have published a factsheet which is helpful in distinguishing between market gardens, garden centres and nursery grounds. However, it would be helpful if the Minister could clarify further, as many of these businesses straddle the various definitions.

Where a business grows plants from seed in greenhouses or polytunnels, my understanding is that they will be exempted by the Bill, but the retail element, where the plants are sold, will not be. Is that correct? What if the nursery has an online order business? Will the packing and posting buildings be exempt?

What about a garden centre where the main centre of the business is retail? Will the small section where plants have been brought in and are cared for before sale be included—if they are shrubs or trees, they might be there for a year or for several years? Will the totality of that business be classed as a garden centre and be liable to business rates, or will some element of that, too, be exempted as a consequence of the Bill?

Once the definition is clarified, it would be helpful to understand the impact of the changes this Bill will make. I noticed that when the Bill was debated in the other place there was no answer to the question about how many businesses would fall into the exemption. It would be helpful to understand the scale of the changes that the Bill will make. Will businesses that fall into this category be expected to self-identify to the valuation office, or will there be a notification as to their change in definition so that they would be exempt? I think it would be very helpful if the onus were on the valuation office to notify the businesses.

Then, there is the impact on the income of local government. No doubt this may be small in totality, but there may be a significant financial impact on some rural district councils, which may have several businesses falling into this definition of nursery grounds. As local authorities now depend for a large portion of their spending on business rates, this may have an unexpectedly significant effect on some councils. Can the Minister provide assurance on these issues?

With those questions and comments, I am totally positive. This is a constructive Bill to change the anomaly that was the result of the court case. It is right that these businesses are exempt from business rates and I support the purpose of the Bill.