My Lords, I am extremely grateful to my noble friend Lord Roper for moving the amendment on behalf of the noble Lord, Lord Cameron. I hope that I can address the points made by my noble friend and other noble Lords and assure him that the practice adopted for the assessment of these projects for non-domestic rates is fair and consistent.
Non-domestic rates, otherwise known as business rates, are a tax on properties that are not domestic and capable of beneficial occupation. Most onshore renewable generating power stations, such as hydro or wind plants, are non-domestic properties and, therefore, liable for business rates. The amendment would give a tax break from business rates for hydro plants with a capacity of 1.25 megawatts or less, provided they were on the operator’s domestic premises. It would mean that two otherwise similar plants would be treated differently for tax purposes merely because one was located next to the owner’s house. I do not think that that would be a fair outcome for this sector.
The amendment raises some good questions about when plants at domestic properties should be assessed for business rates. I hope that on that point I can offer the noble Lord some assurances that the business rates system operates fairly. The rating list is maintained by the Valuation Office Agency, which is responsible for deciding when an installation should be assessed for business rates and for assessing its rateable value. In this regard, the Valuation Office Agency acts independently of Ministers, and we cannot therefore
intervene in its decisions. However, we are aware that during 2010-11 the VOA undertook a review of hydro projects to ensure that all facilities that should be considered non-domestic were assessed for business rates. In some cases, these installations were located in the grounds of what would otherwise have been domestic premises. Where a hydro facility is considered to be domestic—for example all installations under 10 kilowatts—it is included in the council tax assessment of the house. Larger installations may also be considered domestic if the output of the plant is being used to provide power to the living accommodation. However, other projects where the output is being sold to the grid are assessed separately for business rates. This means that the smallest domestic hydro projects, which in the main are used only to provide power to the owner’s home, are not caught by the business rates system. Only those larger projects, where more power is exported and sold to the grid, are assessed for business rates.
In the evaluation of larger hydro projects, I can assure my noble friend that the Valuation Office Agency’s model has been adopted specifically to deal with the lack of direct rental evidence. Renewable energy plants, such as wind farms, hydro schemes, PV installations and anaerobic digesters are assessed using a receipts and expenditure method of valuation. This is because the value of such properties is very closely related to their trading position and their ability to make profits. The costs of generating power at an electricity generator and the earnings from the sale of that power are tangible evidence of assumed rental value. The model is also based on a fair and maintainable forward projection of output averaged over a number of years, and the figures used are derived from actual outputs received from occupiers. Additionally, a ceiling level of output equivalent to a 40% load factor has been applied to the model, even though some schemes generate at well in excess of this level. The model also allows for borrowing costs and is consistent with the general application of receipts and expenditure valuations. I hope that the noble Lord agrees that this is a fair approach to drawing the line for this tax and that it ensures consistency across the sector.
I should also point out that more than 500,000 businesses in England benefit from the small business rate relief scheme, and about a third of a million of them pay no rates at all. We anticipate that many domestically based hydro schemes will benefit from the small business rate relief scheme, providing the owner does not operate any other non-domestic premises. We have also given authorities powers to provide their own discounts, which they can use to provide further support for hydro projects. Should they do so, central government would meet 50% of the costs. In addition, the Government’s feed-in tariff scheme supports the deployment of hydro, and as the noble Lord will recall from earlier in our proceedings, we are planning to extend the scheme to 10 megawatts for community projects.
I hope that I have assured my noble friend that the non-domestic rating system is built on a reasonable set of rules, which decide fairly which projects should
be assessed for business rates, and that we have taken steps to cut bills for small businesses. In the light of that, I hope that he will withdraw his amendment.