division_name: Opposition Day &#8212; [9th Allotted Day] &#8212; Business Rates and the Recession
motion: <p class="" pid="d.375.2/1" pwmotiontext="yes">I beg to move,</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="d.375.2/2" pwmotiontext="yes">That this House notes with concern that the effect of the five per cent. rise in business rates and the end of transitional rate relief will mean soaring bills at a time of deflation and recession; notes the poor take-up of small business rate relief and calls for entitlement to be made automatic in England, as it is in Wales; believes the complex and shrinking Local Authority Business Growth Incentive Scheme should be replaced with genuine incentives for local authorities to promote business growth; further calls for local authorities to have the power to apply local business rate discounts; expresses concern about the effect of the 2010 rates re-valuation on retail premises and urges a review of the re-valuation plans; cautions that local firms will suffer as a result of the Government's business rate rises on empty property, new supplementary rates being imposed with no business say, and retrospective increases in rates on business by ports; and asserts that the Government's policies on business rates are harming local firms during the recession.</p>
  
  <p class="" pid="d.385.0/1" pwmotiontext="yes">I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from "House" to the end of the Question and add:</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid="d.385.0/2" pwmotiontext="yes">"notes that the Government has recognised the problems that many businesses face and is committed to do all it can to help them through these testing times; recognises the action the Government has taken to give targeted support to businesses including a &#163;20 billion working capital scheme, an aim to pay Government suppliers within 10 days, a cut in the main rate of value added tax to 15 per cent., a deferral in the increase in the small companies' rate of corporation tax, free business health checks, more than &#163;100 million towards debt advice, the HM Revenue and Customs Time to Pay scheme benefiting 93,000 firms by deferring &#163;1.6 billion in tax, and extension of Empty Property Relief; believes the Government's commitment to the annual Retail Price Index cap means that there has been no real terms increase in business rates since 1990; welcomes the Small Business Rate Relief scheme benefiting 392,000 businesses by &#163;260 million in 2007-08; recognises that funding of almost &#163;1 billion since 2005-06 has been provided through the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive scheme; further supports fairness in the system that ensures that properties are revalued every five years with transitional relief to phase in significant increases in bills from revaluation; and acknowledges help provided for businesses, including in ports, receiving unexpected and significant backdated rates bills by introducing an unprecedented eight years to pay, as part of a package of measures that ensures through the rates system there is certainly, fairness and appropriate relief for businesses.".</p>
  
  <p pid="d.414.1/1" pwmotiontext="yes"> Question put accordingly (<phrase class="standing-order" code="31(2)" pwmotiontext="yes">Standing Order No. 31(2)</phrase>), That the original words stand part of the Question.</p>
  
  <p pid="d.414.1/2" pwmotiontext="yes"><i> The House divided:</i> Ayes 220, Noes 297.</p>