Oral Answers to Questions

Tom Blenkinsop Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Kris Hopkins]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend’s point. It is important that we expand the rented housing sector, and we are doing so. The huge amount of money that we have put in—bearing in mind the limited resources that this Government have to spend—is bringing dividends. We have 14 applications at the moment, which will deliver 2,800 extra houses. I look forward to visiting his constituency in the near future, where I hope to see some of those new houses.

[Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

19. What recent assessment he has made of levels of business rates for small and medium-sized businesses.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)]

Thanks to this Government’s tax cuts, small business rate relief has been trebled—it was worth about £900 million in the past year—and more than a third of a million small firms also now pay no business rates bill at all.

[Tom Blenkinsop]

That is interesting, as business rates have risen by an average of nearly £2,000 this Parliament. A future Labour Government would give small firms and businesses a rates cut and would then freeze rates the following year. Will the Minister inform the House how much business rates are set to rise by in 2014 under this Government’s plans?

[Brandon Lewis]

Let me give a slight correction, because obviously business rates have only moved with inflation; there has been no real-terms increase in business rates at all under this Government. We have also trebled small business rate relief, so helping small businesses in a way that the previous Government simply did not do. As the hon. Gentleman will no doubt realise, there will be a decision on the business rates for next year in the Chancellor’s autumn statement in December.