Government calls for action under Section 69 of the Localism Act are tokenistic hypocrisy, says Rochdale retailer Paul Turner-Mitchell
Share 56
inShare11
Email 
Mark Prisk. Peddling a half-baked policy. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA Archive/Press Association Ima
There's nothing more pointless than a rock'n'roll star, said Radiohead's Thom Yorke. If he ever gets round to reading Clause 69 of the Localism Act he may yet come to revise this view. In pointless policy terms this one is in a league of its own. Happiness indexes and cycling lanes designed not to be used don't come close.
From the perspective of many northern councils, the policy is not only pointless but also insulting. Essentially, it gives councils the power to reduce business rates, something many small businesses have long been crying out for. But to do this councils will have to cut back on care for the elderly or disabled services because it has to be paid for from council budgets that have already been cut to the bone.
It is naked political calculation of the worst kind, allowing central government to keep business rates at an unsustainably high level (increased by over £500m for retailers in last two years) and being able to direct small business complaints towards councils for not reducing them. Once again it's a case of more sophistry and politics for the High Street and no serious policy.
Mark Prisk, the man responsible for taking on responsibility for the Government's high street review - operating under the ridiculous moniker of Local Growth Minister – is busy beating a drum for Clause 69. Last week he told an Association of Convenience Stores conference that their members should be lobbying councils to reduce business rates.
Never mind the fact that Government has ignored the likes of the British Property Foundation, the British Independent Retailers Association, the Chambers of Commerce and many more trade bodies by continuing to introduce punishing business rate rises. Never mind that Government continues to oversee the decline of the body responsible for evaluating business rates to the point where it has a massive backlog of business rate appeals it's taking so long to process that businesses paying too much tax are going under in the meantime. Never mind Government introducing the biggest increase in business rates in 20 years last year, costing retailers £350million, while throwing £20million of scraps in Portas Pilot funding to hard pressed high streets. Never mind government failings. If business rates are crippling your business then it must be the fault of your local council.
If rhetoric could revive our high streets, a New Jerusalem would be springing up tomorrow and empty shops up and down the country would be filled overnight with vibrant businesses. But I'm afraid the high street doesn't work like this and there has to come a time when political calculation ends and painful reality begins.
Sadly Mary Portas made the same mistake of lapsing into wishful thinking rather than focusing on the realpolitik of business rates and local authority funding. Her independent review said local authorities should use their discretionary powers to give business rate concessions to new businesses. But with Greater Manchester local authorities having to make cuts of just short of £1billion by 2015 where is the room to subsidise business rates?
Greater Manchester rates
Local Authority
Discretionary Rate Relief for 2012/13 for town centre regeneration under Clause 69
Overall budget and savings that must implement from 2010 to 2015
Population size in 2011 Census
Budget cut per person
Rochdale 0 £137M 211700 647.14
Oldham 0 £130.9M 224900 534.5
Manchester 0 £266M 503100 528.72
Salford 0 £110.2M 233900 471.14
Tameside 0 £101.6M 219300 463.29
Bolton 0 £101M 276800 364.88
Trafford 0 £55M 226600 242.72
Stockport 0 £55.3M 283300 195.2
Bury 0 £31.8M 185100 171.8
Wigan 0 Refused save for £48M for 2010/11 & 2011/12 301500
Not surprisingly, a freedom of information request reveals that not one single local authority out of all the 10 Greater Manchester authorities is currently using Clause 69 of the Localism Act to reduce business rates. This policy has been in place since April and it speaks volumes that a major business conurbation like Manchester is not using it. The reality is councils simply can't afford to cut business rates. Last Friday's headline in the Guardian of 'up to 900 more jobs axed at Council' explains why.
Small businesses will be hoping this week's Autumn Statement sees the Chancellor finally grasp the nettle of business rates to offer some real hope to all those who feel over-taxed, under-valued and unsupported by this Government, especially here in Greater Manchester. We've all had enough of political skulduggery dreamed up by policy mandarins who are a billion miles away from the reality at the coalface.
If the government really wants localism, then let councils determine their own business rates instead of having to impose unsustainably high rates set by government that no longer bear any relation to property values. Clause 69 isn't localism, it's half baked policy that isn't working.
We can't go through parliament with government introducing tokenistic policies that councils won't use. There is nothing worse than giving businesses false hopes. We've had enough pointless gestures, we need the right tools to rebuild the high street.
Paul Turner-Mitchell owns Rochdale's 25 Ten boutique, writes columns for Drapers and Retail Week and contributed to Mary Portas' high street review. Last month on the Guardian Northerner he invited Ed Miliband to work for a day in the Rochdale shop. The Labour leader is considering it.