SHADOW communities and local government minister Lord Bates visited Merseyside yesterday to hear first hand about the hardship caused to port firms by last year’s changes to the way business rates are charged.
Lord Bates, who is also deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, has been a vocal opponent of the backdated rate bills being levied on businesses based at UK ports.
During his visit, the minister met Kieran Hall, managing director of stevedoring firm Denholm Handling and chair of the Mersey Dock Rating Group, and Tony Woolrich, managing director of North West Trading, another stevedore firm.
Lord Bates said: “Jobs and businesses are under threat as a result of this Government’s retrospectively applied huge tax.”
David Pendleton, business development director for industry body Mersey Maritime, said: “Local authorities are about to start collecting the backdated rates, and that will be a crunch time for businesses.”
