Land Covenants: Supermarket Chains

Lord Watts Excerpts

Wednesday 4th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

Taking a broad perspective on the question, I came into government to support the pro-business agenda. What the Government are trying to enact is the ability to stabilise the economy based on fiscal rules, to create an investment environment that is investable from all parts of the market, and then, importantly, to look at regulation to enforce that fairness and sense of competitive tension. The Government are committed to reforming the business rates regime, and that work has already begun. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced a permanent 5p cut in the business rates multiplier for over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, which is also funded by the higher tax rate for the most expensive 1% of properties. We continue to take feedback to try to create the right fiscal conditions for businesses to be able to thrive.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, like most regulators, this one is failing the general public. Do we not need to review all our regulators to make sure that they are doing the job that they are supposed to do? If the legislation needs strengthening, then strengthen it—but also hold the regulators to account for the work that they do.