District Councils (England)

Debate between John Howell and Jake Berry

Tuesday 14th November 2017 Westminster Hall

[John Howell]

Is it not true—it is certainly my experience—that where district councils have merged, they have struggled with the democratic deficit that has arisen? What we have seen replacing them has effectively been the same as district councils, with local areas in which local people can hold councillors to account.

[Jake Berry]

I started off by putting my thanks to local councillors on record, which I am sure is a reflection of everyone’s views, although it is unfortunate that there is no one here from the Opposition to put their thanks on record; I will do it on their behalf. Local councillors are a fantastic link with the community. Whether we have all-out elections or yearly elections, we get our opportunity to fire them if they stop doing a good job. Regardless of the size of the local authority—metropolitan borough, unitary or district—we must ensure that we do not break the link between the local community and the local councillor, because it is their job to be the voice not just of the borough but very specifically of the ward, the street and the area they represent in that local council. As long as proposals retain that strong local link for councillors to go out there and be champions for the local area, that should be considered, if it is widely supported.

I note that my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater and West Somerset referred in a previous debate to a “merger most foul” rather than a “murder most foul”. In relation to his very specific allegations, if he believes there is evidence of any criminal activity whatever, he must make those allegations to the police. I know he has talked openly and widely about them in the House today, but any criminal behaviour is intolerable in public service and in local authorities and I would urge him to report the allegations to the police as quickly as possible so that those people who have committed criminal offences can feel the long arm of the law reach for them, rather than the long arm of this place talk about it.

The Secretary of State is currently considering the proposal for Taunton Deane Borough Council to merge with West Somerset District Council. The councils have let the Department know that they wish to merge and become a large district council. The Secretary of State is carefully considering the proposal, together with representations made to him by all parties, including those made by my hon. Friend, and the further representations he has made in today’s debate. I will draw the Secretary of State’s attention to the content of today’s debate in his considerations. What I can say is that the auditor for the area has made it clear in his report about the merger that it forms an important element of West Somerset’s future financial viability.

I want to set out the next steps in the process. First, the Secretary of State will make an initial decision, as soon as practicable, when he has had the opportunity to consider all the representations. After that decision, whether it is a “minded to implement” decision or not, there will be a period of representation, during which my hon. Friend and all members of his community, including the local authority, can make representations to the Secretary of State about whether the proposed merger is appropriate. Once the Secretary of State has considered all those representations, he will make a final decision. If that final decision is to implement the proposals, we are then required to come to the House of Commons to seek the permission of Parliament to pass secondary legislation.

In conclusion, I repeat that local areas owe a responsibility to the people they represent to find as many ways as possible to deliver value to the taxpayer and improve services. Their priority, in all areas of the country, must be to ensure that local government is effective, efficient and financially sustainable. They have a duty and an obligation to deliver core services. I know that those councillors we have referred to today have the wellbeing of their residents at heart and must continue to hold their local authority to account to ensure that those services are delivered to the residents they represent.

Question put and agreed to.

Commonwealth: Trade

Debate between John Howell and Jake Berry

Wednesday 22nd February 2017 Westminster Hall

[Jake Berry]

The issue of agriculture and Commonwealth trade is quite tricky to tackle. South Africa has said that it would like to sign a trade deal with Britain the day after Brexit—it is unfortunate that it cannot be signed the day before, but the day after would be very welcome.

I hope that the Minister will initiate talks with the large, open economies. They should be a key negotiating priority for Britain; indeed, several of them have already indicated an interest in exploring trade deals. New Zealand has reportedly even offered to help Britain by providing trade negotiators to assist the Minister and his Department.

We also need to open trade deal talks with India. That will be a huge challenge for the Minister and his Department, but we will be helped significantly by the Indian diaspora of 1.4 million people, which creates strong cultural ties between our nations, and by the fact that India is currently the UK’s largest export market in the Commonwealth. A recent Commonwealth study estimated that a UK-India free trade agreement would increase two-way trade by 26% and predicted that UK exports to India could increase by 50% every year. I hope that all hon. Members can see that that would be a huge prize, not only for Britain but for India. The Government must make it a priority next month.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

My hon. Friend speaks about the benefit of such trade deals to the UK. Does he agree they would also provide the ability to bring stability, because of what we could do as a result to help countries in regions that are often quite troubled?

[Jake Berry]

Yes, I agree that they are a good way of bringing stability. Sometimes Commonwealth countries have been frustrated that rather than talking to them about trade, the Government have simply talked about development, democracy and human rights while entering into trade deals, agreements and contracts with China. One of the best ways to instil stability, democracy and human rights is to have a good trading nation that makes its population richer.

Next month we must also ensure that we do not leave behind Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific states and the Crown dependencies. We should offer tariff-free and quota-free deals with access to the UK market, and we should pursue deals with South Africa, CARICOM—the Caribbean Community—and the east and west African groupings. Achieving those deals will be complicated and time-consuming—we have seen and heard that trade deals take several years to agree—but the time to start the negotiations is at the Commonwealth Trade Ministers meeting next month, not in 2019 as the Minister’s Department has indicated.

Other practical steps that we need to take include looking at departmental reform to eliminate silos. Trade Ministers should be able to move freely between the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Trade and the Home Office. To strike trade deals, we will need to tackle issues such as visa reform, aid and the FCO’s use of soft power; we will also need to use our influence to promote the Commonwealth and all its benefits and trade deals.

Business Rates (Rural Areas)

Debate between John Howell and Jake Berry

Tuesday 8th September 2015 Westminster Hall

[Jake Berry]

I thank the hon. Gentleman. There is an opportunity to take advantage of the small business rates exemption, and some farmers in my constituency and beyond who have holiday accommodation have used the exemption where they can have it for free. I hope that the Minister will take all the issues on board, including the hon. Gentleman’s eloquent point, in the reassessment of the way that business rates are charged, with a particular focus on agricultural communities.

Festivals have had to pay large backdated business rates bills to avoid enforcement proceedings by billing authorities. As with Mr Walker and his farm, that has led many festivals to appeal the bills, imposing additional costs and burdens on the VOA. The VOA has provided little justification or explanation as to how it is taking into account the individual circumstances of different festivals, and, as with the stables, there is a serious lack of clarity in the existing ratings manual, making it effectively for a festival organiser to know whether rates will be levied. I gently say to the Minister that although music festivals are not for everyone—they are not for me—they have notable supporters. He will recall that in 2013 the Prime Minister was photographed at the Cornbury music festival—without his shoes on I believe. I hope that when the Minister considers the issues, he will think of those notable music festival fans who may control our future careers.

The final point I wish to make about business rates in today’s debate is the rateable charge levied against cash machines. Over recent years, our rural areas across the country have lost literally hundreds of banks. Every Member here today will be aware of the bank closure programme in their constituencies. It has meant that, for many people, the hole in the wall or the through-wall ATM at the village shop or post office is their last access to cash. The importance of such facilities reflects the fact that about 80% of transactions are still in cash.

In the past five years, the number of ATMs liable to business rates has risen from about 3,000 in 2010 to over 12,000 this year. Each through-wall ATM that is liable to business rates has an average charge of £3,600. Major supermarkets or petrol retailers, such as Shell or BP, may be able to absorb such costs, but a small village store or post office will not. A small village store or post office may be exempt from business rates, due to this Government’s action, through small business rates relief, but creating a second rateable unit at the shop means that it is hit with a bill in excess of £3,000.

[John Howell (Henley) (Con)]

My hon. Friend describes a situation in which a bank has been closed down in a constituency, which often happens in rural constituencies such as mine. Has he found that the current position inhibits people from taking up ATMs in the transfer of that banking business to another business?

[Jake Berry]

I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution; I will come on to the effect of that, but the short answer is yes. Cash machine operators have warned that the attachment of business rates to through-wall ATMs makes them uneconomic, particularly in rural areas where there is low footfall and their use is not as common. They have estimated that 1,000 existing ATMs, let alone ones that we would hope to bring into our communities following a bank closure, are at risk.

An additional danger for our village shop, post office or former bank is that many of the small businesses in the village will do the majority of their transactions in cash. If people’s access to cash is suddenly a car or bus journey away, some of our most vulnerable rural residents, who will not have access to transport, will be forced to leave their village or small town to access cash and, having made the journey, will also do their shopping outside the village. As with festivals and stables, taxation of ATMs is described by the VOA as an area where some inconsistencies exist. Those inconsistencies are leading to the removal of cash machines or large, historical and significant claims for rates. It is currently estimated that 1,000 or so cash machines are at risk of removal due to the charge.

I believe that the charges were brought about by action we took in 2012. Correctly, in an attempt to encourage local authorities to seek business growth in their areas, the Government empowered local authorities to retain 50% of business rates, with the idea that they would go out and find new businesses, in the towns, villages and countryside, and encourage them to open in their areas. Local authorities now collect £26 billion a year in business rates—to put that into context, I should say that it is a bigger money spinner for local authorities than the fuel duty.

As we hoped, we have seen significant behavioural change by both local authorities and the VOA since 2012, but not in the way we hoped. Instead of localism and the encouragement of new businesses, local councils seem to have been inspired to carve out stables in people’s homes for a pet tax, festivals for a party tax and ATMs for a cash tax. I hope that the Government will urgently address such anomalies in their business rate review.

I make a final appeal to the Minister. During that review, can we look at putting a mechanism in place so that, when the VOA changes policy on the collection of business rates, that is announced and we have the opportunity to discuss the impact of that change here in the House? I say that because these unknown changes, which MPs find out about through their postbags, are seriously impacting on and damaging rural businesses. I hope and believe that, as part of our review, we will ensure that that does not continue.