Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill)

Lord Jamieson Excerpts

Consideration of Commons amendments and / or reasons
Wednesday 26th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Thurlow (CB)]

My Lords, I shall speak to Motion N1. We have already had reference to this, but I have noted the Commons’ objections to my amendment on Report, and I have revised it and wish simply to sketch the alterations. This revised amendment, therefore, is about reviews exclusively—first, a review of the £500,000 threshold of rateable value, which is the cliff edge that the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, referred to, and the impact it will have on businesses. This is a vital review because at present, it will be untenable for organisations that just exceed the £500,000 rateable value and will be compelled to pay a higher band of rates. The second review concerns how to address the appropriate tax rateable value on the big warehouse retailers—the internet retailers such as, but not exclusively, Amazon. Fairness between the high street and these big-box retailers is what we seek. We want to establish a new use class, purely for the benefit of business rates and no other reason, but without insisting upon implementation, which was in the previous amendment and rejected in the other place. The Government will then be able to apply the new rateable value to these big gorilla retailers at the flick of a switch at any time in the future, but they are not compelled to do so.

All sides of the House want fairness for the high street against these big retailers. Let us not duck it or leave it in the long grass. I am afraid I am not convinced by the comments of the Minister so I, in turn, wish to press my Motion at the appropriate time.

[Lord Jamieson (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a councillor in central Bedfordshire. I rise to speak in support of the noble Lord, Lord Thurlow, and his Motion N1. The noble Lord has been persistent in his efforts to get the Government to listen and bring forward a serious review of the case for a separate use class for retail fulfilment centres that are not on the high street. He is an excellent example of a Peer who brings his experience and expertise to your Lordships’ House. As a professional chartered surveyor, he has brought that expertise to bear during the debates on the Bill, and I am very grateful to him for that.

The Bill fails to deliver on the Government’s manifesto commitment to replace the business rates system and level up the playing field between the high street and the internet giants—a so-called Amazon tax. It fails on both counts. The reviews proposed in this amendment would provide the basis to achieve this. The new £500,000 threshold for the higher multiplier is a blunt tool that will impact many organisations that were never intended to be hit with higher business taxes. It does not deliver on the Government’s objective of targeting online giants. I have consistently made the point that a £500,000 threshold is a cliff edge that will create perverse incentives at the margins, disincentivising investment, particularly on the high street.

The noble Lord, Lord Thurlow, has gone further arguing forcefully that the Government must review the case for a separate use class for retail fulfilment centres that are not on the high street. I am grateful to him for including my concerns about the impact of the £500,000 threshold in his Motion N1, and I am pleased that my party will vote for it should he choose to test the opinion of the House.

[Lord Thurlow (CB)]

My Lords, I realise that I omitted to refer to Motion P1, which is in the same group. It is consequential on Motion N1 and will depend on the outcome of that Division.