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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 23 March 2025
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Displaying 724 contributions

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Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2025

Daniel Johnson

Thank you.

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2025

Daniel Johnson

I have a couple of broad questions. I ask the forgiveness of my committee colleagues who have been through the first iteration of regulations, because I am slightly late to the party.

The substance of the regulations is about the fairness principle—it is about the balance between the landlord and tenant. As you have been looking at how this will operate, what contexts have been taken into consideration, given that there can be a broad range of different arrangements in a commercial lease situation, including retail? When adjudicating on the basis of fairness, will the adjudicator be looking purely at the pub industry, or taking a broader range of contexts into consideration?

09:15  

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 5 March 2025

Daniel Johnson

We are all aware of the current state of pubs in particular within the hospitality industry, and the decline in their number. I am sure that we are all aware of pubs that have closed in our constituencies and regions. Indeed, a tenant very close to me has just given up his lease in what one would imagine would be a very successful pub. In relation to the adjudicator’s work within the overall framework for the legislation, will there be explicit consideration of the health of pubs, or will there just be consideration of the broader context?

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

New Deal for Business

Meeting date: 26 February 2025

Daniel Johnson

I will attempt to put one specific question to each of you. We will see how we go. However, that is already breaking my promise to my colleagues that I would ask only two to three questions. I will put that down to my bad maths.

First, I will ask Jane Wood and Claire Mack about regulation. There is a regulatory review group. I know that neither of you sits on that group, but regulation is clearly often where the rubber hits the road with Government policy. Have you seen any impact, benefit or improvement from that effort? What more do you think could be done?

10:00  

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

New Deal for Business

Meeting date: 26 February 2025

Daniel Johnson

Those points are excellent. I was just turning to the convener to say that perhaps we should end the committee session there. If there is one message that we should all be listening to, it is that one.

Nathalie, I will come to you. You made the good point that business should try to understand precisely where decisions are being made. That said, I would say that the onus is more on us. You talked about the pattern of engagement and how it started off with businesses coming to the new deal for business and the industry leadership groups. Are we making it too difficult to engage? Do we need to rethink that? Certainly, when I was running my business, I would not have had the time to come along once a month, or even once a quarter, to essentially give a day to meetings. Do we need a short, sharp, practical way to better engage with more businesses?

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

New Deal for Business

Meeting date: 26 February 2025

Daniel Johnson

So, ban acronyms; ban PowerPoint. Got it. And with that, I will finish my question.

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

New Deal for Business

Meeting date: 26 February 2025

Daniel Johnson

That would make it more difficult to appeal a change of RV.

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

New Deal for Business

Meeting date: 26 February 2025

Daniel Johnson

I will not ask any more questions, but I should declare an interest as someone who has had to appeal a rateable value decision in the past, so I know how difficult that is. I just want that reflected on the record.

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

New Deal for Business

Meeting date: 26 February 2025

Daniel Johnson

To summarise, there has been engagement, but you have yet to see the outcomes. Is that fair?

Economy and Fair Work Committee [Draft]

New Deal for Business

Meeting date: 26 February 2025

Daniel Johnson

My fellow committee members were giving me grief for asking too many questions previously, so I will put one question to Leon Thompson. To the rest of the panel, I note that one of my takeaways from what Paul Mitchell said is to ask whether we are making it easy. The Government might be talking to you, but does it really understand your members? That is my just my reflection.

Leon, you sit on two really critical groups: on regulatory reform, and on non-domestic rates. First, can you clarify when the regulatory reform group last met? Secondly, our previous panels have asked whether there are clear outcomes, so I would like your reflection on that. Thirdly, on the non-domestic rates group, if it is not discussing the reform of non-domestic rates, what is it discussing, if I may put it like that?