Business Rates Reform

Lord Harris of Haringey Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Yes, absolutely, although I do not quite see why their future would be in doubt; as I said, we have set out our intention to strengthen them. We will bring forward proposals to do exactly that. I do not see that the wider business rates reform agenda we have set out would in any way impact the important work that they do.

[Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)]

My Lords, I, too, pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Pitkeathley for the work he does in support of business improvement districts, but I also pay tribute to business improvement districts themselves for the extraordinary work they do in improving the nature of, usually, town centres, but it might be different areas, and also in reducing crime and disorder in those areas. In the light of the Prime Minister’s foreword to the strategic defence review—I refer to my interest as chair of the National Preparedness Commission—in terms of the national initiative that he is talking about and the shared endeavour to improve our preparedness and resilience as a nation, does the Minister not see that there is a particular role for business improvement districts in ensuring that local areas are indeed resilient against all sorts of attacks and threats and that businesses themselves are making a contribution to that process?