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L I N K S |
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• BRIEFING NOTES
• PRESS PDFS
• LIST OF MPS
• LETTER TEMPLATE
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HULL DAILY MAIL
PETITION |
the Hull Daily Mail have
been supporting the
campaign to lift the
Business Rates Threat
and have an online
petition:
go to |
| www.humberbusiness.com |
click on the logo
"Fair deal on the Docks"
scroll down to the bottom
& click on sign the petition
enter your name
& address etc in the
box at the bottom
Fill in a comment ..
Then click "submit"
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RATES BOMBSHELL HITS PORTS SECTOR
A financial nightmare is unfolding at docks across England and Wales with the prospect of huge hikes in business rates triggering bankruptcies and redundancies.
The scale of a likely disaster first emerged at the Port of Hull; the first English Port to have received its rating demands (some weeks in advance of other Ports), where port operators have been asked to pay an extra £18.4 millions, (up from £1.6 millions pre 2005 to £20 Millions) including a shock 3 years backdated bills.
This highlights the imminent danger of substantial insolvency and unemployment within Ports and a re-direction of many tens of millions of planned investment from the UK to Europe. Business Rates Prior to 2000 were paid by Port Owners - in the case of Hull, Associated British Ports plc - through a revenue and expenditure formula. The difficulties of changing from this prescriptive rating of premises in docks and harbours to rating by conventional means led to delaying the introduction of rating of docks and harbours by conventional means until 2005. When introduced in Scotland, a consultation exercise was undertaken in 2002 to determine the views of those affected by the change and a robust self-financing transitional scheme emerged.
No such exercise took place in England
By 1 April 2005 deadline, the Valuation Office Agency had not carried out the revaluation of premises in docks and harbours in England and Wales.
During late 2007, without an accurate consultation, and with a significant redistribution of the Rates burden from the statutory undertaking to the other operators in the port with no prior warning, the statutory hereditament for Hull docks in the 2005 Rating List was issued increasing its value from £3m in April 2000 to £17m in April 2005.
2008 rates demands have been issued through Hull City Council to recover a 500% increase in Rates for 08/09 and all back-dated to 01 April 2005, all payable by Port Operators.
Not only do operators in the Hull Docks face an increase in Rates by the Rating List released in 2007, backdated to 1 April 2005, operators have not been able to make financial provision for the increase in the Rates. Operators did not know until three years after the deadline date of 1 April 2005 what their increase in the Rates was to be and therefore could not in a very competitive market know what charges to pass on to their customers. In addition, they have not been able to accrue for any such increase in their accounts.
This situation repeated across England and Wales would lead to bankruptcies and redundancies.
Urgent action by the Government to lift the backdating and implement a period of consultation, will see a smooth transition into a fair and consistent national Rates regime in good time for the next review in 2010, to save jobs and help future investment in UK ports.
Operators have always paid Rates through charges from Port Owners and do not dispute the Government’s right to review the Rates, nor our liability to pay, but the increase and methodology, with three extra years back-dated, is unfair and a potentially fatal blow to many.
Solicitor Andrew Finfer of Schofield Sweeney of Leeds is working on behalf of affected port operators on the Humber; the Humber Ports Business Rates Group.
Andrew Finfer, Partner,
Schofield Sweeney LLP, Springfield House
76 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 2AY
Tel: +44 (0113) 220 6270
email andrewfinfer@schoeys.com
The information and any commentary in the law contained on this site is provided free of charge for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort is made to make the information and commentary accurate and up to date, but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by Schofield Sweeney or the website publishers. The information and commentary does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice to any person on a specific case or matter. You are strongly advised to obtain specific, personal legal advice about your case or matter and not to rely on the information or comments in this bulletin.
Thanks and acknowledgement to the following media for allowing use of PDFs of news stories:- Hull Mail News and Media, International Freighting Weekly, Lloyds List
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URGENT ACTION
NEEDED
Businesses affected by the rating revaluation in each and all of the ports should write to their local MP with a copy to John McFall and Louise Ellman (and anyone else they have been corresponding with) telling their MP how the revaluation has affected their business. These letters should tell each company's story and should not be in a standard form so that the politicians will realise that the rating revaluation is a national issue of critical importance to all types and sizes of businesses in all of the statutory ports.
The letter should invite their MP to contact John McFall and Louise Ellman to discuss how they can assist with the campaign of lobbying the relevant ministers. The letters should not address any complaints about the behaviour of port operators but concentrate on the effect of the VOAs actions or lack of actions on the particular business; the arguments are well rehearsed in the attached briefing paper.
A copy of the list of MPs and their contact details is on this website.
A briefing note about the rating revaluation is also on this website.
Following a meeting of The Treasury Select Committee, under the chairmanship of John McFall MP, on 15 October, the matter is clearly on the Government agenda and it is vital that the severity of the problem is made clear by all affected businesses.
As many interested parties as possible should write to Mr McFall and to their own MP to express their opinions about this matter and urge the Government to use their powers to instruct the Valuation Office to abort the current exercise, to remove the threat of back-dating the huge increases in the business rates to April 2005 and to work with our Industry towards the orderly introduction of a new rating regime as from April 2010.
Individuals and companies should please write detailing their hardships to their own Constituency MPs as well as direct to Mr McFall at the following address:-
Rt Hon John McFall MP
Chairman, Treasury Select Committee
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
email mcfallj@parliament.uk
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