Draft Business and Planning Act 2020 (Pavement Licences) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2023

Sarah Owen Excerpts

Monday 3rd July 2023 General Committees

[Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Hosie. For me, it feels a little like groundhog day. This time last year I spoke on legislation to extend pavement licensing from 2022 to 2023, although in front of a different Minister—some might argue a lesser Minister. I hope for answers and some progress today.

We are yet again working on the basis of extending this legislation for just another year. We support this statutory instrument, but I lament the fact that the Government continue to think in the short term. They tinker around the edges of policy to make it stretch further, rather than put the work into long-term strategies to support high street businesses.

We all know from our local communities that businesses have not fully recovered from the pandemic; they have not had a chance. The Government’s mismanagement of the economy has sent fuel and food prices soaring, inflated interest rates and made mortgages, including for business properties, increasingly unaffordable. We do not plan to oppose the regulations, but there are improvements that the Minister could make, and I would be grateful to have her response on some of them.

There continue to be widespread job vacancies in hospitality—an industry that has traditionally relied on overseas workers and is now struggling to fill gaps. If media reports over the weekend are to be believed, Conservative Members are pressing for even stricter limitations on visas for foreign workers. Will the Minister please share with us whether any assessment has been done of the impact of those plans on the hospitality sector? How many more vacancies does she think it can sustain before closures become inevitable?

Small and medium-sized enterprises are still struggling with an outdated and punitive business rates system, while online giants grow fatter by avoiding paying their fair share of taxes. The lack of Government action on bringing in a digital sales tax is pushing more bricks-and-mortar businesses into bankruptcy as they struggle to compete. We will continue to fight that battle in our debates over the Non-Domestic Rating Bill, which is being examined thoroughly in the other place.

Enabling hospitality venues to operate outdoors for longer will certainly help boost custom, particularly in the summer months—although perhaps not this morning. Sector representatives, including UKHospitality, have emphasised the economic benefits to non-urban areas, which have previously not facilitated outdoor dining and are eager for this to be a permanent change in how hospitality businesses can operate. Will the Minister please tell us how much the extension to pavement licensing will offset the damage caused by covid and the Government’s economic mismanagement? Has any assessment been made of that at all? Ultimately, what is the point of these piecemeal bits of legislation, such as extending pavement licensing year after year, if there are fewer businesses and workers on the high street because the wholesale changes that are needed have not been made? However, that is what we have in front of us.

In previous years, charities advocating for people with sight loss have berated the Government for pushing through this well-meaning legislation without adequately consulting them. There are obvious dangers for people with sight loss, and often corresponding hearing loss, when the pavements they are familiar with become occupied and hazards arise. A-boards are a familiar problem that disabled groups are sick of having to raise again and again. I note that, once again, there is no impact assessment for the regulations.

[Shailesh Vara]

The hon. Lady said in opening that she welcomes the proposals, and she is now raising a legitimate concern relating to those who are partially sighted or not sighted at all. What would be her solution to that issue?

[Sarah Owen]

This hugely important issue has been raised time and again. One of the solutions is to have an equality impact assessment and to put it before Members today so we can actually take those decisions. There should also be a proper consultation. Last year, I was promised a consultation with the sight loss groups and charities, but we have not seen one. That solution is staring us in the face.

[Shailesh Vara]

The hon. Lady says that part of the solution is to seek an impact assessment, but what practical solution does she propose? An impact assessment would be a get-out clause to allow her to make the criticism but not provide an alternative solution—[Interruption.] I am simply asking. She raises a fair point, but what is her practical solution? She approves of this measure but seeks to criticise it in relation to access for those who are disabled. [Interruption.] This is not a laughing matter.

[The Chair]

Order. One at a time, through the Chair.

[Sarah Owen]

None of us is laughing about this, but one of us is ignoring the problem that those groups are raising. We all agree that there is a serious problem with A-boards and pavement licensing: the lack of consultation and information about the impact. The right hon. Member asked me what my solution would be, and I would want to see what impact the regulations have on people, particularly those who are disabled. Right now, we are not being given that information, so we are having to take this decision without the information in front of us. I would be able to make a much more informed decision if I had the information, but, surprisingly, for now, I am not in government.

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

Maybe the hon. Lady could help us by telling us why the Welsh Government have not pursued an impact assessment, because Labour is in government in Wales.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Owen]

I think what I will do is check whether the Welsh Government have actually done this. I will be urging them to do the same, and I ask the right hon. Member to put the same pressure on Ministers in this Government.

Can the Minister assure me that greater care was taken this year to listen to stakeholder concerns and to make improvements accordingly? I think that that is something we all want to see. We all recognise that there are serious issues—particularly for people who are blind, partially sighted or disabled—when it comes to the use of A-boards and obstructions on our pavements. We are being asked to make a decision on the draft regulations without any information on whether a detailed consultation took place last year, as was promised, and on the equality impact assessment. That is the point of equality impact assessments: so that we can take knowledgeable, understanding decisions in this place. They are not a get-out clause; they are so that we know the true impact of the legislation on which we are voting.

On the unintended negative implications of the draft regulations, we have spoken before about the growing pressure on councils to provide more services with less funding, and local government is another sector suffering from staff vacancies. Extending pavement licensing will bring a benefit to the consumers using these businesses, as well as to the business owners themselves. However, we must also consider the burdens piled on councils in the administration of reviewing pavement licensing, monitoring adherence to these policies, maintaining and cleaning the areas involved, and other responsibilities. My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham North (Alex Norris) effectively raised this issue in Committee during deliberations on the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill last year, when he reminded the Minister that pavements and highways are public assets and that the public should get a share of the profits garnered by businesses, which take those profits into their private domain. I note that the Minister expressed her gratitude for the work that local authorities have done, particularly during covid, to keep businesses afloat, but can she provide me with an update on whether further consideration has been given to the proposal to allow councils to have more of a share of the financial rewards gained by businesses, which would allow precious revenue to be spent on residents when resources are so scarce?

As I said, we will not oppose the licensing extension, because something is better than nothing and any gesture of support for the businesses that make our high streets, town centres and tourism hubs so vibrant is most welcome. However, the glaring truth behind the smaller debates that have been had on the draft regulations is that, ultimately, these measures are another policy solution typical of this Government: they are a short-term sticking-plaster policy that hopes to tide us over before the election of a new Government who will really tackle the financial mess. This is the sort of strategy that will define this Prime Minister’s era. Businesses will not forget the trauma they went through during the pandemic, but if they were lucky enough to survive that and still exist today, they certainly will not forget the chaos since then.

The cost of living crisis has meant that every pound must be stretched further. Families are struggling to put food on the table at home, and we can be certain that they are limiting their spending on eating out even more. Measures such as this statutory instrument will provide a vital opportunity for businesses to reach customers outdoors, but until customers have more money in their pockets to enjoy what is on offer, the Government are just throwing scraps to a fragile, diminishing industry.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dehenna Davison]

I apologise for rambling, but I am so excited about the support that the Government have put in place for our high streets that I wanted to rattle off the list to reassure the Opposition that support for our high streets, and ensuring that they thrive into the future, are incredibly important. That is not to mention our devolution agenda, which providing more support, more funding and more local powers for local people to take control of their destinies—a Conservative approach to levelling up our high streets.

On the cost to businesses, which has been raised from the introduction of these provisions, we used the new burdens doctrine to ensure that councils would not be penalised for the monitoring, evaluation and enforcement of the measures. That is why the Government have reimbursed councils for the first year of the provisions. The sum came to just under £5 million, and that will continue as the measures are extended.

On the idea of taking a slice of business takings under these measures to pump back into local government, that seems to me exactly the opposite of what we should do when trying to support our incredible hospitality businesses. That is not something that the Government will support.

An important point was raised around accessibility, which we are taking incredibly seriously. We introduced the measures in response to a really difficult time for the hospitality industry. We received a number of representations from institutions such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Following the first year of the measures, we took those fully on board and introduced newer guidance. We consulted with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, the RNIB and Guide Dogs so that the most up-to-date guidance ensured that local authorities knew their obligations, ensuring that the pavement licensing regime is fit for purpose, in terms of both supporting businesses to trade outside and people who have accessibility issues.

[Sarah Owen]

I thank the Minister for those points, but could we please have an assurance that when we are, inevitably, here again next year, we will have an equality impact assessment so that we can see the results of the consultation and what those charities and organisations are calling for?

[Dehenna Davison]

We will not be here next year, because the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill will get Royal Assent to make the measures permanent.