A CONSERVATIVE MP is campaigning to get business rates for public toilets scrapped as legislation edges closer to becoming law.

Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, has spoken in the House of Commons to get business rates scrapped for all public toilets.

As co-chair of the Across-Party Parliamentary Group on Local Democracy, Mr Holden has been working to free up funds for local councils by ensuring they do not have to pay business rates to open and maintain public toilets.

Speaking in the Remaining Stages of the Non-Domestic Rating (Public Lavatories) Bill in the Chamber, Mr Holden said that he ‘recognised the great work that parish councils are doing’ in places like Rookhope and Wolsingham.

He also stated that the work parish councils do for the communities is one of the reasons he has been such an ‘active campaigner’ in Westminster on their behalf.

Commenting, Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, said:

“I am delighted that we have seen the remaining stages of this Bill in the House of Commons and I am looking forward to it being debated in the House of Lords in the coming weeks.

“It’s such an important piece of legislation – my parish councils face spending two per cent of their annual budgets on business rates and this relief will make a huge difference to their finances.

“Not only will this legislation enable councils to spend money on what the community needs, but it will support our local areas by ensuring that people have access to public loos which, for some people, can be the deciding factor in whether or not they are able to go out.”