Agenda item

That the following policies, as set out in appendices A to D of the report, be approved:

(a)  Council Tax Discounts for Flooded Properties.

(b)  Business Rates Relief for Flooded Properties.

(c)  Retail Rate Relief for Business Properties, subject to the exclusion of discretionary relief for betting shops, payday loan companies, pawnbrokers, off licences, sex establishments and takeaways.

(d)  Reoccupation Relief for Business Properties, subject to the exclusion of discretionary relief for betting shops, payday loan companies, pawnbrokers, off licences, sex establishments and takeaways.

The Assistant Director Finance and Audit introduced a report which sought approval for four new policies in relation to revenue collection: Council Tax discounts for flooded properties; Business Rate Relief for flooded properties; Retail Rate Relief; and Reoccupation Relief for business properties.

The Prime Minister had announced in February that relief would be made available to homes and businesses that had been affected by the recent floods, and discretionary powers under the Local Government Finance Act had been utilised to bring the changes into effect as quickly as possible.  The Government had agreed to reimburse local authorities for any Business Rates reliefs paid out and had set aside funding to reimburse local authorities for Council Tax relief.  There were therefore no direct financial implications to the Council as any costs arising from these policies would be reimbursed at a later stage.  Members were advised that the scheme had recently been extended from the initial three month discount and residents would now be eligible to claim relief for as long as they were unable to return to their homes.

The Government’s Autumn Statement in December 2013 announced relief for certain retail premises for 2014-15 and 2015-16 of up to £1,000 to all occupied retail premises with a rateable value of £50,000 or less; and a 50% discount for reoccupying empty retail premises to try to reduce the number of empty shops.  Local policies needed to be adopted for these schemes and local authorities would be reimbursed for any reliefs paid out under the guidance issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government.  Council’s had the option of including additional discretionary relief in their policies if they chose to do so, however, they would have to meet the cost of any such enhancements.

The Cabinet welcomed the support available to residents and businesses who had experienced flooding and agreed to adopt the local policies to bring these schemes into effect.  In relation to the policies for retail relief and reoccupation relief, Commissioners considered the types of businesses whose activities conflicted with strategic and corporate priorities, for example the recent work done by Scrutiny on tackling childhood obesity.  The reoccupation relief policy as drafted would exclude betting shops, payday loan shops and pawn brokers and it was agreed that hot food takeaways, licensed sex establishments and off licenses should also be ineligible.  In order to ensure consistency between the two policies, hereditments being mainly used for these activities would also not be eligible for Retail Rates Relief.

Resolved –

That the following policies, as set out in appendices A to D of the report, be approved:

(a)  Council Tax Discounts for Flooded Properties.

(b)  Business Rates Relief for Flooded Properties.

(c)  Retail Rate Relief for Business Properties, subject to the exclusion of discretionary relief for betting shops, payday loan companies, pawnbrokers, off licences, licensed sex establishments and takeaways.

(d)  Reoccupation Relief for Business Properties, subject to the exclusion of discretionary relief for betting shops, payday loan companies, pawnbrokers, off licences, licensed sex establishments and takeaways.