Draft Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention: Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2023

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Monday 27th February 2023 General Committees

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the chair, Mr Hosie. Since we last addressed the topics outlined today, it seems little has changed to clarify how the policy will support local communities in the long run, particularly small and medium-sized businesses in our constituencies. High streets have been hit hard and are increasingly run-down, with hardworking business owners having to accept defeat in the face of impossible financial difficulties and short-sighted decisions made by this Government as they lurch from crisis to crisis.

While Labour has a clear plan to scrap business rates and bring in wide-reaching reforms to even out the playing field, we are still not clear what the Government are proposing. The threshold for rates relief for small businesses is still too low, at just £15,000, and online giants are still not paying their fair share of taxes, with a digital service tax not high on the agenda. How can we say to our communities that high street shops such as Marks & Spencer—known, valued local businesses—are paying more in tax than online giants such as Amazon? That is not levelling the playing field. It is ripping the guts and hearts out of our communities.

Will the Minister share any progress on implementing fair taxes for major online businesses? Will they finally be made to pay a proportionate amount back to this country in the way that our home-grown small and medium-sized enterprises do? The Minister knows well the pressures that local authorities are under. It is something we have both discussed and, at some points, locked horns on. They are working on shoestring budgets and with staffing shortages. The last thing councils need now is the administrative challenge of processing new rates without the extra resources to cope. Will the Minister confirm whether local authorities will receive extra resources to deal with the administrative burden?

In our last meeting on business rates, I made those concerns clear to the Minister. He responded by pledging to carry out new burdens assessments ahead of implementation. Can he advise me on whether the assessments have taken place? If so, would he be willing to share with the Committee and myself their findings?

Off the back of the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent, will the Minister please share the value of the opt-out for the City of London? The Minister also said that, if it was decided, additional support that might be needed would be provided to councils. Has any support been allocated since we last discussed the issue? As we stated in the last such session, we will not oppose the regulations, but this time we want assurances that appropriate assessments are being carried out to ensure that the strain on councils does not grow even greater and that those that need the support will get it.