Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Consideration of Lords message
Monday 31st March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Here we go again. This is very similar to what we spoke about last week, so I will again put on record my thanks to the noble Lords for their work in pushing forward the amendments from the other place.

We welcome the business rates reform and look forward to a far more substantial overhaul of the system. However, we are deeply concerned about the proposals for hospitals. Lords amendment 1 sought to exclude hospitals and it is so disappointing that that was not accepted. In my area, in Dorset, both Poole and Royal Bournemouth hospitals would be caught by the £500,000 rateable value rule. Poole hospital has a rateable value of £2.1 million and Bournemouth’s is £3.3 million. World-famous hospitals, including Great Ormond Street, The Royal Marsden and England’s oldest hospital Barts, would all be caught up.

The Government have rightly been proud of the early delivery of extra NHS appointments, but keeping hospitals in the Bill risks real problems for local councils which might find themselves having to take difficult decisions to take the hit and not charge their hospitals the higher amount. To take away the discretion altogether, I ask Ministers please to remove the provisions from the Bill so that hospitals do not pay twice.

I share the concerns of the shadow Minister regarding the businesses that are on the cusp of the £500,000 threshold. The impact of flipping just over from the lower to the higher multiplier could be profound. So many businesses are already on the cusp, given the national insurance increases, the living wage and the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. The additional worry about tipping over into the higher threshold could see many fail to invest in their businesses for the future.

I will keep this brief, because we know where we are. We too do not agree with the taxation of education and we continue to support the Lords amendments to remove private schools from the legislation. The main reason that we feel that way is that we know that many parents of children who have additional needs choose the private sector because it is so difficult to get what they need in overcrowded schools that are falling apart at the seams. We therefore fundamentally disagree with the principle of taxing education.

The Government have made a good start on the Bill. We want to see a much more fundamental review of business rates. There is a long way to go, but we think that the amendments, if accepted, would demonstrate a Government who are listening. At a time when trust in the Government needs to be built, a Government who listen to sensible amendments would be most welcome.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Government for bringing the Bill forward, but I have to put on record some of my concerns—the Minister will not be surprised. He knows that it is never meant in an aggressive way; I put things forward in this way because it is important that my constituents have a chance to express themselves through me in this Chamber.

First, I echo the concerns of the shadow Minister and the Liberal Democrats spokesperson in relation to hospitals and medical and dental schools. I have some concern over how that will trickle down, as it will inevitably, and put pressure on sectors where it does not need to be. The job of those three areas is to ensure that our hospitals can deliver the care and our medical and dental schools can produce the students with the expertise and knowledge to be the next generation of those who look after us.

My major concern, however, is about private schools. I know the point has been echoed many times, but I cannot let this occasion go without making my remarks, on which I have sought the direction of Madam Deputy Speaker and other parties. Members will be aware of the issue with private schools, and I have spoken about it on numerous times to put forward the argument for the faith schools in my constituency. Parents scrimp and save to ensure that their children can go to those schools and have the standard of education that they wish for them, and they have asked me to put that on record. The reason I persist in raising the issue is that I truly believe that some people of faith will be further disadvantaged when the Bill goes through. I know that that is not the Government’s intention, but it will be the reality, and for that reason I must put it on record.

Although the rating provisions will not apply in Northern Ireland per se, the disadvantage to our sector remains in the removal of the tax considerations, which will affect schools in Northern Ireland. That is where the issue is. For the mainland, the effect is quite clear, but schools in Northern Ireland will be affected as well. I wish to be clear that I oppose these provisions on behalf of faith-based schools on the mainland as well, because parents of children at those schools want the same as those who spoke to me.

I am a very proud member of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief, and I believe that that extends to parents’ freedom to educate their child with a view to how their faith is worked into that education. Lords amendment 15 has been referred to by the shadow Minister and by the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade). For many parents, confidence that their faith will not be dismantled in the classroom is worth the financial burden of paying into their child’s education, but that is being denied by this legislation. I believe that they all deserve the opportunity to educate their child in a way that they wish, for which they will probably pay handsomely, but these proposals will adversely affect parents’ freedom to educate their child in their religious belief.

The option to home-school is one that parents may not have considered previously, yet may now feel is the only financial option available for them. Those parents may not feel qualified or equipped to deal with the skills that are vital to home-schooling, yet believe there to be no option as they simply cannot afford to pay the uplifted fees. That is the unfair burden that falls on the shoulders of those parents.

I firmly believe that the Government disagree with almost every Lords amendment because the Lords amendments interfere with the public revenue and affect the levy and the application of local revenues. The Commons does not offer any further reason, trusting that this reason may be deemed sufficient. Basically that means, “We need the money.” I have been a Member of this House for almost 15 years and an elected representative for some 40 years as a councillor and a member of the Assembly, and never, ever have I believed that money is the bottom line, and I do not believe that many right hon. and hon. Members believe that. We cannot take faith-based education out of the hands of a certain class of people to punish those high-class schools with swimming pools. Let me assure the House that Bangor Independent Christian school, with its Sunbeams nursery schools, has no pool. Regent House prep in my constituency has no swimming pool either. There are small primary schools that will have difficulty operating when these regulations come into force, and that is simply not right.

I know that the strength of the Labour Government means that this Bill will pass, but I am urging individual MPs across the House to consider who will be punished and to urge the Government to review this tax raid on education, even at this late hour. We believe in the right to live one’s faith, and we cannot tax that right out of reach. That is where this Bill has gone wrong, and has divorced itself from the reality of the people that I represent.

Birmingham City Council

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 31st March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. Before I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, I remind Members that if they are seeking to contribute in a statement, they must arrive on time. It is extremely discourteous to the Minister, and indeed to the House, to be late.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker—I ran all the way from the top floor of Derby Gate, but I was not fast enough. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am an elected member of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council.

The people of Birmingham have a right to receive decent services, and it is critical that the ongoing dispute is resolved as quickly as possible. Like the hon. Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton), we are concerned about the impact on public health and the environment, and urge the Government to confirm that when waste collection resumes, it will be safely disposed of and recycled where possible, and not just given to the cheapest bidder.

Fundamentally, the Conservative Government slashed funding to local authorities year on year, forcing councils to do more with less and plunging so many, of all political stripes, into financial crisis. However, we are disappointed that the Government have not yet addressed some of the financial crises, particularly around confirmation of the special educational needs override, which I know councils across the nation are really worried about, and which is making it more difficult for them to make decisions about their future plans.

We welcome the multi-year settlements, which I am sure the Minister will refer to, but we remain concerned about how effective they will be. Two recent examples give us cause for concern: the roads funding, which appears to give local authorities more money, actually cuts England’s road repair budget by 5%; and the employer’s national insurance change, which promised to cover councils’ costs for direct staffing in full, did not do so in some cases, including for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council. All that is underpinned by a broken council tax system that is regressive. In some areas, the council tax base is totally inadequate to provide for the growing list of services, and the Lib Dems want to see a radical overhaul.

Birmingham should serve as a lesson for the Government, because this matter is a result of the long-running equal pay crisis. What learning are they taking from the situation in Birmingham, and what extra measures is the Minister introducing to prevent public health and community safety issues?

[Jim McMahon]

I am pleased to say that we are making sure that we deal with the waste piling up in the streets and that the council gets the support it needs, but the hon. Lady is right to say that there is an interrelationship. This dispute does not sit in isolation; it is part of wider considerations on equal pay, and we have to bear in mind that the cost of meeting the equal pay liability for the people of Birmingham is £1 billion. There can be no steps forward in this dispute that double down on the inherent problems that led to the equal pay crisis that the city has faced. These are sensitive negotiations, but it is important that the council continues to negotiate and that people get around the table to find a way through.

The hon. Lady talks about the multi-year settlement that is being prepared for and the simplification of the funding mechanism, but she also mentions redistribution. Birmingham and councils like it have not found themselves in this situation in a vacuum; it has been partly driven by central Government not distributing money in a fair way to deal with service need and deprivation, and it is very important that we get the money to where that deprivation exists. Even under the current one-year settlement, Birmingham has had a 9.8% increase—in cash, that is £131 million.

Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) Order 2025

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Wednesday 26th March 2025 General Committees

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Thank you for calling me to speak, Ms Hobhouse. As the Committee knows, the Lib Dems are unhappy with the decision to cancel local elections in May. We think it is a denial of democracy. I have concerns about two specific things.

The first relates to the examples that have been given of other places where elections have been postponed: Somerset, Cumbria and places like that. In such places, that was discussed and decided at a local level over quite a long period. A number of options were discussed with local people, consultations took place, a lot of data went around and there was to-ing and fro-ing between local areas and Government about which option would go forward. At the end of that, the Government took a decision that some people liked and some people did not. Decisions about who to vote for were made on that basis.

In this case, the voices of local people have not been heard at all. Neither at the general election last year, nor on the last occasion that those people had the chance to vote, was this even a twinkle in the Minister’s eye. We knew that mayors were coming, but we did not know that local government reorganisation was. Therefore, those people have not had their chance to express a preference for this type of reorganisation. This case is therefore different. That is the main reason I have concerns.

On my other concern, I have a question that I hope the Minister can answer. I am aware that some wobbling is going on already in at least one of these areas. If there are any wobbles, or concerns that these reorganisations are not ready to go for an election in May 2026, what will happen? If this is indeed a delay of a year and the new authority is not in place for elections in any of these places, so an election takes place in May 2026 on what is currently there, the Government will have undermined their values, because people will be electing something that they are about to abolish. I am not convinced, given that there has been no consultation, that there is a guarantee that every single one of these reorganisations will happen and every one of these councils will be ready to go by May next year.

For those reasons, we will oppose the statutory instrument, but I would be grateful for the Minister’s comments.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim McMahon]

We have tried to strike a balance between answering the demand—the fact that all 21 counties have submitted to the interim phase is testament to the support in the system for this—and finding enough of a framework at a national level so that areas know what to report to, while building enough flexibility to take into account that England is very different in its construct and make-up. There are huge variations between urban centres, rural communities and coastal communities. In forming local authorities that have a clear anchor that can be understood and respected by the local community, we have to allow for flexibility in that system.



The statutory invitation that went out was clear that that means population sizes of 500,000 as a starting point, but we have been clear with the County Councils Network, the Local Government Association and the District Councils’ Network, and in trade press interviews, that we will see a range. Some will say that the mid-300,000s is right for them, and we are seeing some city districts looking at moving their boundaries outwards. But others will say, “Actually, our county does not have that characteristic—we haven’t got that city anchor or coastal issue that might be present elsewhere—and we think the best option for our place is maybe 600,000 or 700,000”.

We want to be flexible enough to take into account local representations as we receive them. Our working assumption is that when all that balances out, we will end up with an average of 500,000, but who knows? We need to see the submissions that come in, but flexibility is important, and it challenges the idea that this is a top-down, mandatory system of uniform councils that all look the same, regardless of local circumstances. It is not that. It is very important nationally that we give the framework and direction—and we have done that—but this is about co-operation and partnership. I appreciate that that point has been picked up on.

We have been clear about our willingness to drive forward to deliver this vision, and to work with local councils to support communities to fix the foundation of local government in delivering that ambition. Alongside the English devolution White Paper, I wrote to all places in the 21 areas inviting them to express a clear commitment to delivering to the most ambitious timeframe, and to flag any requests for a delay in elections to take place.

Where authorities made such a request, we have judged it to meet a very high bar that was rightly set, and we have kept our commitment that clear leadership locally would have to be met with an active partner at a national level. We have taken the necessary decisions to postpone local elections where it will help to smooth the transition process and deliver the benefits of mayoral devolution, supported by strong and stable local government reorganisation as quickly as possible. We are now working with those areas to prioritise in parallel the necessary steps to explore the establishment of new mayoral authorities in time for the May 2026 mayoral elections, and to deliver plans for new unitary local government.

On devolution, public consultations are already under way, running from 17 February to 13 April in these areas. More than 12,500 responses have already been received in that process. We are getting on with delivering reorganisation as well. All district and county councillors in the two-tier areas, and their neighbouring smaller unitary authorities, were invited, and I am pleased to say that every area—comprising of councils of all political stripes—has responded to the invitation to reorganise. They shared with Government an interim plan containing updates on their thinking about options for creating new unitary councils. The response demonstrates without doubt the groundswell consensus from communities that change is overdue and needed. Earlier this week, I made a written statement setting out the details of this, providing parliamentary transparency and supporting the commitment we made to ensure there was active reporting during the course of the process.

Local engagement with Members of Parliament, public sector providers, residents and other key local partners will now be led by the councils as they develop detailed proposals to establish strong, stable unitary councils that are fit for the future. This order is essential to allow the first wave of this ambitious programme to be delivered. It grants postponements for 12 months only, and only for the nine councils whose requests met the high bar we set.

We are extremely clear that these decisions were made on the basis of local requests to free up capacity and enable the practical steps needed, which would not be feasible so quickly if the 2025 local elections went ahead in those areas, for reasons that are self-evident. These areas have demonstrated the clear and strong local leadership and the necessary ambition to drive forward the programmes to the timelines that the Government have set out to deliver for those areas, including taking the difficult decisions that are needed.

Let me address the points that have been made. I sense that a lot of the debate today has picked this process out as being unusual in English local government, but it is not. Members will know that between 2019 and 2022, 30 sets of elections were cancelled: 17 to allow preparatory work for local government reorganisation, which is what we are talking about here, and 13 as part of legislation to allow the unitarisation process to take place after the proposals had been submitted. So this is not unusual; it is a natural part of the cycle to free up capacity and enable those proposals to be developed— I can go through the list, and provide the details in writing.

But I do think we need to be careful here. First of all, we absolutely believe that this is the right thing to do, and that is not because we have an ideological view about how local government should sit. All the Members in this room are here because we care about local government and local communities, and we cannot have a hand-to-mouth funding regime where local government is just not sustainable. We have to find a solution that really fixes the foundations, and this is one small part of that—there is a lot more we need to do—but it is important. If we did everything else but not this, it would just not hold together. I think that it would devalue—I will be honest and direct about this—the work that local leaders have put into this at a local level to build consensus and show leadership. I am not talking about exclusively Labour leaders; in many areas, they are Conservative, Liberal Democrat or independent. We have a collective responsibility to at least mirror the leadership that they have shown across political parties in the interests of their communities, and to reflect that here in the national Parliament. I do not think that is too much to ask.

[Vikki Slade]

For clarification, I do not think we would object to the process or intent of reorganisation— I have been through it as a local leader, but the process was quite different. I am thinking about the suddenness and the shortness, and my concern is about consultation in advance of the decision to take this particular route. When Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset were merged in 2019, I think the process started in 2016, and then went through a local referendum in one place, which actually said, “No, thank you.” That went ahead anyway, but the decision was taken after a period of consultation. I ask the Minister to reflect on whether local consultation in advance of a decision to cancel an election would have been a better option, had time allowed.

[Jim McMahon]

To be clear, there is not time to do that. In the finance settlement this year, I think we have done a good job in building a bridge to the multi-year settlement, but it is only a bridge. That does not answer the fundamental, underlying questions that are leading to the financial vulnerabilities of local councils.

We have had a cash injection—£5 billion of new money is not insignificant—and it has made a significant difference. Introducing £600 million for a recovery grant gets the money to areas that need it most. That is reflected in the fact that we have not had a single section 114 notice issued as a result of financial distress. But let us be clear: 30 local authorities needed exceptional financial support through the budget process, so a lot of work is required here.

As we move to the multi-year settlement, we have to reconcile reorganisation within the lifetime of the three-year multi-year settlement, so that at the end of the settlement, the transition has been completed, the funding has been settled and all councils in England are on a firm footing for the future. Had we waited, we would not have achieved that, and we would have allowed the reorganisation to go beyond the multi-year settlement. I think that would have provided more uncertainty for a system that is quite fragile at the moment, when actually, it needs certainty and direction. We are not doing this because we are gung-ho, but because we believe that these structural reforms are needed and necessary.

I absolutely believe not just in consultation, but in collaboration and co-operation. That is about how ideas and proposals can be co-produced. It is for local areas to do that. There will be a statutory consultation on the proposal, and that will happen as a matter of course. But in the end, it is for local areas to make sure that they are having those local conversations and are coming forward to the Government with proposals that mirror what the local desire is, within the art of the possible. I have confidence that local leaders have that shared commitment, too.

This order, which was laid on the 11 February, is essential to delivering the Government’s commitment on devolution and reorganisation to the fastest possible timescale, for the reasons that I have set out. The order was made using delegated powers, which have been given in primary legislation granted here, and have been previously used in the same way. All the appropriate steps were taken, and both process and precedent were carefully followed. Nothing is being imposed on local areas—the Government are committed to the devolution priority programmes, and the emerging proposals for the new unitary councils are, by their nature and result, bottom-up. All requests for election delays to deliver reorganisation and devolution to the fastest possible timeframe follow direct requests from local leaders of the affected councils.

Devolution and strong councils with the right powers will mean that hard-working councillors and mayors can focus on delivering for their residents on a stable financial footing. It will strengthen the democratic accountability of local government to local residents. A final point that I have not covered is the ordering of by-elections that will take place. The guidance will set out that by-elections will be dealt with in the usual way; they will not be affected by this order.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lewis Cocking]

I fully agree with my hon. Friend.

[Vikki Slade]

Actually, the Liberal Democrats took over after a long time when the whole area had been run by the Conservatives, and so picked up a complete car crash.

[Lewis Cocking]

The area is under Liberal Democrat control now, and they have gone for a massive council tax increase of 7.5%, even though when the Prime Minister launched his local election campaign he said everyone’s council tax would be frozen. I will leave that there.

When we talk about the millions of pounds to be saved through local government reorganisation, we need to be very careful about the figures we use, because that is not the answer to all the local government questions. We need to look at population size again, and really I want the Minister to comment on capacity in the civil service. If we managed three areas over three years with strong local support, how will the Government be able to do nine within 12 months—having elections and making sure all the structures are in place—and what happens to people’s right to vote in those areas, if it goes on for longer than 12 months?

Housing Development Planning: Water Companies

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Wednesday 12th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Lewell-Buck. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Helen Morgan) for securing this important debate.

It was deeply disappointing to hear this week about the bodies being removed as statutory consultees. I completely agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Honiton and Sidmouth (Richard Foord). Although it is deeply regrettable that we are taking away rights from organisations like Sport England, I hope that will make space for the water companies. We have been calling for them to be statutory consultees for a long time.

Although water companies have a statutory duty to connect all new homes to the sewerage system, it seems quite ridiculous that, apart from us, nobody seems able to speak up in our communities to say that there is no capacity left in the system. If water companies are not allowed to say no, how can we make sure that there is enough space?

I have been working with the local water company, Wessex Water, and a fantastic campaigner, Bill Burridge, to deal with a problem in the village of Merley. The community was built predominantly in the ’70s and ’80s, and the sewerage system is already at bursting point—literally. Most of the homes were built at a time when the surface water was allowed to go into the sewerage system. As a result, whenever it rains a brown sludge washes across the Stour Valley way, which is a well-used leisure route, and directly into the nature park and the River Stour, exactly where the local rowing club trains and the Wimborne angling club fishes. It is beyond ridiculous—you can see the two side by side.

Six hundred new homes are about to be built at the location, between the existing homes and the river, which will increase the capacity the community needs by 25%. Although some section 106 obligations are in place, there appears to be little enforcement. When we told the people at the sewerage company that some of the houses were already occupied, they said, “Oh, we will get a project team down there to see whether things need to be upgraded.” It really was laughable. If the Government are serious about getting homes occupied, the water companies need to be required to act before the homes are ready to go, so that we do not end up with situations in which homes are waiting for connections and for sewerage systems to be upgraded.

There is another problem that affects not only people moving into new homes but the people already living there. As water companies are being forced to repair the sewers and reduce the spills, the surface water that has been flowing through the systems, often for decades, is now backing up in people’s gardens. The houses were built long ago, the concrete has been laid and there is absolutely nowhere for all this excess water to go. There is water from the ground and water from the surface. Homes in Broadstone, including in the Springdale area, are finding their gardens unusable, and houses slightly further down the hill are using sandbags to prevent the water from flooding into their homes and gardens, despite the fact they are around 5 miles from the nearest river. The water companies say it is not their problem because they are fixing their drains and sewers, and the councils say it is not their problem because it is not public land. Whose responsibility is it? Homeowners cannot be suddenly faced with gardens that are underwater.

Like the homes my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire mentioned, homes in Broadstone have seen sewage bubbling up, sometimes in their living rooms. The only reason the water companies have given us is that they are the oldest homes in the area and are closer to the water treatment plant, and therefore when all the new homes are connected they have to face the consequences of inadequate systems. The water companies have absolutely no answer. Individual homeowners are expected to put up with it, and the only new investment is where the new homes are. What is the Minister doing to ensure that the water companies and developers are providing for the homes that are already in communities?

Oral Answers to Questions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 3rd March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Every day, another family contact my office because they are homeless, and they are placed in a hostel, with no functioning kitchen and no private bathroom, miles away from their children’s schools. I am sure that other hon. Members can say the same. What is worse is that the placements cost councils at least three times as much as permanent social homes. So-called affordable homes are of no use to these families at all. At the same time, new homes are being rejected by registered housing providers because the standards are not high enough. What are the Government doing to progress the future homes standard, so that the homes being built are not rejected by registered home providers, who say that the homes are not good enough for them, and will have to be retrofitted?

[Matthew Pennycook]

I understand the point the hon. Lady is making. I refer her to my previous answer. The Government intend to bring forward, through changes to building regulations, future standards that will increase the energy efficiency and carbon emission requirements on new build homes. That will give housing associations, in particular, that have got ahead of the changes and standards the comfort that they need to start adopting those units.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Homelessness stats published last week show that rough sleeping has increased for the third year in a row and is now 91% higher than in 2021, yet the Vagrancy Act 1824 has not been repealed and rough sleeping is still a criminal offence. In July 2024, the Minister was asked for a progress report and advised that consideration of relevant legislation was needed, but it is now more than three years since Parliament voted to repeal the Act. Will she now give us a date when that will come into force?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Rushanara Ali)]

We are taking urgent action to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and have announced £60 million to tackle winter pressures. We will update the House on progress in repealing the Vagrancy Act in due course.

High Street Rental Auctions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I congratulate my neighbour, the hon. Member for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale), on securing this important debate. It is great to see four new Members from Dorset here this afternoon, which shows what a fantastic place it is to visit. I agree with the hon. Member for South Dorset (Lloyd Hatton) that high streets are, of course, the beating heart and the identity of a place, but they also hold—as the hon. Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) mentioned—the communal memory of the people who live in, work in and visit a place.

I remember the high street of my youth, in a little town in Edenbridge, Kent. I used to visit the independent chemist, which doubled as a gift shop, to buy presents for my mum—I am sure she never liked them—and I would go to the big town for summer holiday shopping with stores like C&A and Chelsea Girl, and department stores like Allders and Debenhams. But those high streets were symptoms of their time, and I am sure that our grandparents would have been shocked by the identikit towns that we have had over so many years. It might be right and proper that some of those brands have succumbed to what is going on now—there is the negativity around online buying but also the trend toward second-hand and vintage shopping, which is actually quite a positive move.

Almost 13,000 retailers shut their shops last year, and according to a recent report, retail institutes warned that a “perfect storm” of higher costs and red tape means that one in 10 shop-floor jobs are expected to disappear by 2028. We need to make these moves with that as a background. But many places are bucking the trend and I hate to be negative about places, so even Bournemouth—which has had so much negativity—has had increase in footfall of 12.5% year on year. We need to congratulate those amazing businesses that are making the difference.

We must also think about what the high street means for us now: a combination of shopping, entertainment, living, working, playing, studying and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) says, post offices. We Lib Dems welcome all the ideas to shape and support our high streets and town centres. Of course, local and national governments have a vital role to play, but the issue is not rent; it is business rates. Landlords say that rates are now higher than the rents that they can command in many cases, so a scheme that addressed that would be the most welcome. I am sure that the Minister will tell us about the new lower rate for retail, hospitality and leisure, but we need something substantially different from the current model.

I entered politics a long time ago on a local level to reform business rates, so it is great that I have finally made it to this position, and can hopefully make an impact. Lib Dems want to see business rates replaced with a commercial landowner levy to create a more level playing field, shifting the responsibility from tenant to landlord, and also ensuring that high streets can compete against businesses that do not have the same overheads. In abolishing the broken business rates system, we would look to tax the land value of commercial sites, not productive investment, because that is the problem—at the moment, we tax business investment, which impacts productivity and wages. The biggest impact would be on small businesses in deprived areas. They would then be a part of the regeneration of a space through wider community development, which can work alongside rental auctions. We welcome the current discussion paper on business rates reform. Can the Minister update us on when we can expect that to move forward?

On the rental auction initiative, the Lib Dems are concerned about the potential costs of the scheme for local authorities. Although the programme has funding allocated to it, it is not clear whether local authorities would be able to use this to take on leases to help them to enable business growth and start-ups to take off. There is no doubt about the financial burden on councils at the moment, and I am deeply concerned about whether there is the capacity and desire in some places to deliver something on the scale that is needed.

The industry also has doubts about the new auction system and whether it will have the desired effect. I agree with the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (Jo White) about hospitality fit-outs. Someone can spend £30,000 just like that on a small independent café, and that money is not going to come from just anywhere, particularly in the limited amount of time that these auction leases will be arranged for.

The funding available to create vacancy lists is welcome. Economic development teams have an amazing opportunity to drive the vision for their area forward; I am concerned that landlords may not understand the other innovative uses for their buildings, whereas a local authority has the ability to go out and scout for other businesses that might want to come into an area. There is an opportunity through the scheme if the funding can be used in a more flexible way. I am interested to know how councils can use the funding if they do not have property that they can put forward and auction now, but want to get ahead of the game. Any building sitting empty for more than 12 months is a long time, and the rot will already be setting in, so getting ahead of the game would be really useful.

A local council also shared that the high street rental auction is a big stick with which to beat up landlords who are not willing to engage. I read in The Business Times of a business lawyer who said:

“The question however remains: are we genuinely operating within a market of idle landlords who require this intervention? If the regulations only offer a solution for the minority and do not tackle the root cause of a greater economic issue around demand and affordability…these detailed provisions may not be the ‘breath of new life’ the government envisages.”

I am also concerned that the power will not do very much in small towns. It is understandable that the big towns such as Mansfield and Bournemouth might well see some benefit from this, but smaller places such as Broadstone or Wareham, or even Swanage and Wellington, might actually be invisible to the big councils as they look to the areas with a significant problem. One or two long-standing empty buildings in those smaller towns can have just as much of an impact, but they are unlikely to be worthwhile with the moneys coming to councils to make the scheme work.

My final point is on the reasons a property might be empty—there may be very good reasons. If councils are to use this power effectively, we must help landlords to bring properties into use if they simply cannot afford to do so otherwise. The high street rental auction requires landlords to bring properties up to the minimum energy efficiency standards—if they do not, they potentially face criminal prosecution. That could cripple landlords financially. What plans are there to support landlords who may wish to improve their stock but for whom doing so is not commercially viable?

Across my Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency, businesses have cited the huge costs associated with operating, which are affecting confidence and putting them off investing in physical property. Soaring energy costs, the increase in national insurance contributions, worries about the impacts of some measures in the Employment Rights Bill and international insecurity mean that taking on a high street premises is probably more difficult right now than it has been for a long time. What considerations are the Government offering to businesses that want to invest but are worried about then having an immediate revaluation of their rates—as in the case of Hall and Woodhouse, which I raised last month?

Without sustainable financial support for councils to eliminate the other issues around town centres, from rough sleeping to public transport initiatives and funding for police to deal with antisocial behaviour, I fear that the scheme may have a minimal effect and be counterproductive. It is a good start: I give credit to the previous Government for starting it, and I hope this Government will finish it, but I would like to know how it will be made more interesting and effective for a broader range of towns.

English Devolution and Local Government

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I thank the Secretary of State for advanced sight of her speech, but I am disappointed that we read the list of cancelled elections on social media, well before it was made available to Parliament. How was that allowed to happen?

A key pillar of our democracy is the right to vote, with people making a mark for the person they want to represent them. The Conservative councils that asked for and have been granted the right to cancel their elections have created crises in special educational needs and have let their residents down. The Conservatives should have been kicked out of county halls last May, as they were kicked out of government last summer, but now those councils have been given the right to help design the new authorities. The plan, which also signals the end of district councils, is completely undemocratic.

We welcome the move to mayoral authorities—it is in train and, as a former council leader, I know councils were already working on it—but there is no democratic mandate for the cancelling of councils in ancient cities such as Colchester and Winchester, the previous capital of England. That was not in the Labour manifesto. What active role will those districts have in the co-production of the new unitary authorities? When will those district councils cease to exist? For priority areas such as Surrey and Hampshire, what assurance will the Secretary of State give that the elections will not take place after May 2026? For places that have had their own authority for hundreds or even thousands of years, what support will be provided to develop meaningful town councils with statutory powers, so that the identity of places such as Winchester can be maintained forever?

[Angela Rayner]

I am disappointed when things are on social media first. I respect this House, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I have come here at the earliest opportunity to update the House.

On the cancelled elections, councillors in those areas are elected, and we have delayed for reorganisation only under exceptional circumstances, where councils have come forward. As I have made absolutely clear, the delay is for a year, from May 2025 to May 2026. As I stated earlier, I turned down many more councils because I believe that democracy is crucial. There is an active role for district councils. We are working with districts and local authorities to ensure that the consultation period and reorganisation are being done with them, not being done to them. It is incredibly important to stress that.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

It is a privilege to speak in this debate, and it is humbling to follow the hon. Member for Hendon (David Pinto-Duschinsky); I thank him for his incredible testimony about his family.

I pay tribute to Mr Speaker and his office for the moving parliamentary ceremony yesterday, especially the testimony of Yisrael and Alf, who both survived the Nazi Holocaust. To mark this event in the same week as the fragile ceasefire in the middle east and the release of Emily Damari and two other hostages makes it even more poignant.

When my son Isaac was nine, his school, Springdale First, held a world war two tea. Children were invited to bring a grandparent to share their memories of living through the war, but he came home distressed because my parents—his grandparents—were not born until several years after its end. Being an ingenious child, he knocked on the door of our neighbour Margaret and asked her to be his adoptive grandmother for the day, so that she could share her memories with his classmates and enjoy the wartime entertainment, which included his singing of “We’ll Meet Again”. I tell this story because, as the living memory of the Holocaust reduces, it is more important than ever that each of us keeps it alive through our own annual acts of remembrance and in calling out antisemitism and all acts of discrimination and hate against groups because of their faith, nationality or identity.

Twelve years ago, I visited Israel and Palestine as part of a Liberal Democrat delegation, during which we made a trip to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. The experience stays with me for many reasons, but the thing that struck me hardest was what came well before the death camps like Auschwitz: a decade of dehumanising a whole community; of families being rewarded with crates of beer for betraying their neighbours; of the boycotting of Jewish businesses, the burning of Jewish authored books and, most strikingly, the sale of ashtrays depicting so-called Jewish faces on them, so that people could stub out cigarettes on their faces, helping to foster the feeling that Jews were not really people at all.

Last Sunday, I attended a Holocaust memorial event in Wimborne Minster in my constituency. The service, which can be seen on the minster’s YouTube page, was based around the book “Violins of Hope” and accompanied by the haunting playing of pieces of music reminiscent of that time by classical violinist Emma-Marie Kabanova, herself a refugee from Ukraine.

As well as the accounts of those whose music continued to be played in the camps, maintaining hope and retaining their humanity, some of the testimony we heard shared more about what came before the war—how Jewish people were forced to leave their homes and their businesses, how they fled in boats from European shores to reach Palestine but were refused landing or, worse, died at sea. I closed my eyes to listen to the simplicity of the violin played in the minster, as the words of those who lived through that horror were shared with us all. The contrast between the evil perpetrated in the name of power and ideology and the selflessness of those condemned to death for something they could not control was incredibly moving.

By the end of the Holocaust, as we know, 6 million Jewish men, women and children had been murdered in ghettos, mass shootings, concentration camps and death camps. In addition, and often forgotten, were the other groups targeted by the Nazis for extermination, among them Romani Gypsies, those with disabilities, gay and bisexual men and black people.

This year carries a special significance, as we mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Next Sunday I will be attending the Poole Lighthouse Holocaust memorial event, as I do every year, at which candles are lit for the victims of not only the Nazi Holocaust but later genocides, all of which unbelievably occurred within my lifetime, in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. That is what Holocaust Memorial Day is for: looking backwards to look forwards.

The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day this year is “For a better future”, so I return to my son, Isaac. At the age of 12, he joined his fellow Broadstone scouts on a European adventure focused on world war two. They travelled across several countries, alternating light-hearted activity days with visits to the Colditz castle prisoner of war camp, to Auschwitz and, on their return, to the Menin Gate to see the war graves and witness the last post at sunset. We thought carefully about whether he was too young for such a trip and whether he could really understand what he was seeing, but I have seen the positive impact of that trip on him. The relationship that we all build with history and truth goes some way to structuring our perspectives in adulthood and preventing our susceptibility to dangerous narratives.

The work of the Holocaust Educational Trust in training and supporting hundreds of teachers each year to help us all learn from the past and work towards a more united future, and of the Antisemitism Policy Trust in training decision makers like us, should be commended and supported. As my party’s spokesperson for housing, communities and local government, it should not be surprising that I will say there is a role for our communities to play too. At a time of rising antisemitism and Islamophobia, many UK communities are feeling vulnerable, with hostility and suspicion of others rising. The Home Office’s own statistics revealed that the number of religious hate crimes recorded in the year to March 2024 had rocketed, which it has directly attributed to a spike in anti-Jewish hate.

We have also seen inconsistent responses from the police to language and behaviours that may well be antisemitic or viewed as hate crimes. I call on the Government to ensure that the police have the resources and, most importantly, the training they need to respond effectively and swiftly to antisemitic hate crimes, and to provide funding for security organisations such as the Community Security Trust.

We must speak up against Holocaust and genocide denial and distortion. We must challenge prejudice. We were told by Holocaust survivor Alf Garwood in Mr Speaker’s service yesterday:

“When my parents were coming to terms with their trauma after the war, I saw what their hate towards those who had destroyed our lives did to them. Hate only poisoned them.”

We must all continue to remember, and to work for peace and understanding at a time when the world feels fragile, and we in this place must lead that work together for a better future.

Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Tuesday 21st January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

As we know, the world is a fast-moving and scary place, and people who feel disempowered and isolated often turn to the internet. They are often vulnerable, and their reliance on the internet for everything in their world puts them at even greater risk. We must work with our community leaders to make the most of the information that they hold, and get early notice of problems.

What worries me is that if we make assumptions and do not work with our communities, there is a risk of authoritarian decision making that affects all of us. What consultation has there been with communities on the changes, and what additional burdens might fall on local authorities following changes to how the Government work? Furthermore, with such extreme things taking place online, especially on the platforms of social media giants based across the pond, what are the Government actively doing to unite faith and cultural leaders, environmental groups, industries and people across generations to foster unity and stop extremism across the whole spectrum?

[Alex Norris]

I agree with a lot of what the hon. Lady’s says about earlier interventions and tackling isolation at its root. As she says, local authorities are really important partners in that endeavour. That is why we will ensure that whatever comes out of our communities and recovery steering group leans into the partnership with local authorities and local law enforcement, where possible, to ensure that the right resources and support are in place.

The hon. Lady asks about engagement and ensuring that we have a contribution from those affected across our faith communities. My noble Friend from the other place, Lord Khan, the Faith Minister, has met representatives of all faiths and will continue to do so. The Government will keep having that important dialogue with different faith groups to ensure that the ideas that we bring forward will be effective and are rooted in real life, but we will also promote inter-faith work, which she mentioned. I know from my own community that when we have had challenges, the best thing we have had to lean on to tackle hate, wherever it might emerge, is the inter-faith relationship.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a serving councillor on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

Many councils have already undergone significant reorganisation, from moving to shared services right the way through to full unitarisation, and the costs of that have always been underestimated. Although transformation leads to lower long-term revenue costs, we know that councils everywhere are teetering on the edge, so finding funds to pay for reorganisation, transformation and redundancies will be problematic. The mayoral authorities add an extra complication, so can the Minister confirm that funding from central Government will be provided to fully cover both devolution and local government reorganisation, so that councils do not have to factor extra costs into their 2025-26 and 2026-27 budgets or risk reducing local services further?

[Jim McMahon]

The Government are not requiring any area to reorganise. What we did was write out and invite proposals to be submitted, and I pay tribute to councillors across the country for the leadership they have shown in putting those proposals forward. Investment to support LGR or devolution will follow a bit later, but to be clear, this is a bottom-up reorganisation being requested by local councils, and they have our full support in that process.

--- Later in debate ---

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Recently, a 1-acre site in Corfe Mullen in my constituency was sold. It was a house surrounded by lots of beautiful gardens, and I think the House can see where this is going. The neighbours raised the alarm that the trees were going to be taken down. They flagged it with the council, which did not see a problem, and a week later, in the dead of night, the developers brought chainsaws and destroyed every bit of nature on the site. Will the Minister commit to bringing forward legislation to auto-protect trees above a particular size or age in their planning reforms, so that developers do not get away with environmental vandalism?

[Matthew Pennycook]

Protections are already in place, but if the hon. Lady wishes to write to me with further details of that particular case, on which I do not have the full information to allow me to comment now, I will endeavour to look into the matter more carefully and to provide her with a full response.