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Business Rate Supplements Bill

I have some sympathy for the Under-Secretary—up to a point. The only reason for having any sympathy for her is that she did not start the ludicrous matter, and she is the umpteenth Minister to walk into it. However, I regret to say that those who drafted her response and produced one of the most mealy-mouthed, legalistic and technocratic excuses I have ever heard in the Chamber served her ill. The Government are shamed by their attitude. I was not surprised that the Government Whip was anxious to ensure that the debate was kept carefully away from the constituency issue that a Labour Back Bencher tried to raise. The Government are worried because they have been crucified in every debate on the matter. They have no answer, and the Under-Secretary is stuck in that position. There is a matter of principle and the issue is important because, as the Under-Secretary said, the normal business rating system must apply to business rate supplements. I do not disagree with that—it is perfectly logical. My noble Friend Lord Bates tabled the amendment because the safeguards against potential injustice in the normal business rating system are shown not always to work adequately. The ports issue is therefore germane, and there was a full debate on it in the other place. It is an example of how injustice can occur in the current circumstances and of the inadequate remedies that exist to resolve it. We therefore thought that it was right to make provision in primary legislation to ensure that such injustice is not imported into the regime under Bill. That is an important principle. The amendment that Lord Bates tabled would ensure that there is no retrospection when the BRS payer has committed no fault. That is a key issue, which should apply across the board. An injustice has been done to taxpayers in the ports through no fault of theirs, but through the incompetence of the Valuation Office Agency in not updating the list in a timely manner, not giving proper notice, not ensuring proper consultation and not providing an impact assessment. The Bill could permit an injustice to happen in the BRS model, too. The amendment was tabled to try to prevent that.