Agenda item

Summary:

1. In the Budget on 17 November 2022 the Chancellor announced the Government would award a 75% Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief for properties up to a cash limit of £110,000 per business for the 2023/24 financial year.

2. In the Budget on 17 November 2022 the Chancellor announced the Government would extend Supporting Small Business Relief (SSB) for another year until 31 March 2024 for businesses who were eligible for the 2022/23 relief on 31 March 2023 and were facing large increases in rates for 2023/24. The Chancellor also announced a new Supporting Small Business (SSB) Relief scheme which will cap bill increases at £600 per year for any businesses that had a Rateable Value (RV) increase from 1 April 2023 caused by the revaluation and consequently lost Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

3. In the Spring Statement on 23 March 2022 the government announced it would bring forward to 1 April 2022 100% relief for low-carbon heat networks.  

4. On 27 January 2020, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury made a Written Ministerial Statement announcing additional business rates measures that will apply from 1 April 2020 including the extension of the £1,500 business rates discount for office space occupied by local newspapers that will apply for an additional 5 years until 31 March 2025. The scheme will be available to local newspapers that occupy office space. Under the scheme, eligible local newspaper businesses will continue to receive up to a £1,500 discount on their bill for the 2022/23 financial year.

5. The 2016 Autumn Statement confirmed the doubling of rural rate relief available to eligible businesses from 50% to 100%. The Government subsequently set out their intention to amend the relevant primary legislation to require local authorities to grant 100% mandatory rural rate relief. Following the decision not to reintroduce the Local Government Finance Bill, for 2018/19 the Government expects local authorities to continue to use their discretionary relief powers to grant 100% rural rate relief to eligible ratepayers in 2022/23, as they have done previously.

6. Under section 49 of the Local Government Act 1988 businesses can apply for Hardship Relief. This scheme has now been incorporated within this rate relief policy. The cost of this scheme is funded in accordance with the Non-Domestic Rates financial retention rules.

The Government expects local authorities to use their discretionary relief powers to grant these reliefs. All the above (except the Hardship Policy) will be compensated in full for our loss of rates income because of these changes. This compensation will be paid by section 31 grant and calculated based on the returns that the council makes under the rates retention scheme.

The Council’s Discretionary Rate Relief Policy has been revised to reflect these changes.

Conclusions:

The policy has been updated to reflect the new and extended schemes announced and includes guidelines as to how the schemes are to be implemented and the financial implications on the authority.

Recommendations:

Reasons for

Recommendations:

It is agreed that Cabinet recommend to Full Council that the Revenues Manager continues to have delegated authority to make decisions up to the NNDC cost value of £4k as indicated in Appendix A.

It is agreed that Cabinet recommend to Full Council that the Revenues Manager has delegated authority to make Hardship Relief decisions up to the NNDC cost value of £4k as indicated in Appendix C.

It is agreed that Cabinet note this report and recommend to Full Council that the Rate Relief Policy is revised as indicated in Appendix A, B and C.

The new policy will enable the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief, Supporting Small Business Relief, the scheme for local newspaper discount, scheme for low-carbon heat networks, Hardship Relief  and the Rural Rate Relief to be awarded discretionary reliefs in 2022/23 & 2023-24.

Cabinet Member(s)

Cllr E Seward

Ward(s) affected

All