Question
I have been sitting here listening to the Minister give some sort of victory lap on business rates. It is like the Government have broken the high street’s leg, given it a crutch and are now asking for a thank you. The British Retail Consortium called the Chancellor’s business rates package a “smoke and mirrors announcement”. I call it a missed opportunity to fix their cut in business rates relief from 75% to 40%. Why does he not just back the Conservatives’ plan to abolish business rates for 250,000 businesses on high streets across our country?
Answer
The hon. Gentleman talks about missed opportunities. When the Conservatives were in government they missed the opportunity for 14 years to support high streets properly. This Government are giving real support to businesses on high streets across the country from April next year, starting with the 20% saving for pubs that the Prime Minister announced in July. Added to that, we are taking 70,000 small RHL businesses out of paying business rates altogether and giving a real-terms two-year freeze to all other RHL businesses in England. That is real help for businesses, helping them to succeed.14% point-scoring 14% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (27/100)
The reply does not clearly state whether the Government will back the Conservative plan. It instead describes the Government's own relief package, which implies a no without saying so. It also gives no specific reason for rejecting the Conservative proposal, offering only general claims about the support on offer and a jibe at the Conservatives' record. The asker would likely need to ask again directly for a yes or no and for the reasons behind it.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Government back the Conservative Party's plan to abolish business rates for 250,000 businesses on high streets? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply never states whether the Government will back the Conservative plan. It pivots to the Government's own relief package (a 20% pub saving, 70,000 small RHL businesses removed from rates, a two-year real-terms freeze for other RHL businesses), which implies a no but does not say so. |
| What are the Government's reasons for not backing the Conservative Party's plan to abolish business rates for 250,000 high street businesses? | Partially Addressed | Generic | No reason is given for rejecting the Conservative plan itself; the only related content is a point-scoring jibe about the Conservatives' record and a general claim that the Government's support is 'real help', which does not explain why this specific policy is not backed. |