Written question asked by Lord Bates (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord McKenzie of Luton (Labour) on Monday, 22 February 2010.

Ports: Business Rates

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Association of British Ports with regard to the repayment of rebates in business rates which they have received in respect of the business rates levied on port-side operators since 2005.

Answer: The then Minister for Local Government John Healey met with representatives of Association of British Ports to discuss the impact of the Valuation Office Agency review of the rating of ports in February 2009. The review of ports by the Valuation Office Agency was carried out in order to ensure that all individual business properties within, and outside, ports are rated fairly to distribute the burden of contributions to the funding of local government services is shared equitably between businesses around the country. The Government have listened to the concerns of businesses with significant and unexpected backdated bills, including some within ports. It has legislated to enable such bills to be repaid over an unprecedented eight years rather than in a single instalment, helping affected businesses to manage the impact on their cash flows during the downturn by reducing the amount they are required to pay now by 87.5 per cent. As at 8 October 2009, local authorities reported that ratepayers occupying 221 properties within ports had fully discharged their backdated liability and ratepayers occupying a further 200 business properties within ports had been granted a schedule of payments.

Secondary information