Agenda item

The Deputy Chief Executive presented the Non-Domestic Rates Discretionary Rate Relief report. During the presentation the following was highlighted for Members’ attention:

• This was a ‘sister’ policy of the Council Tax Discretionary Council Tax Reduction Policy that had been considered by Cabinet on 17th January 2024 and subsequently agreed by Full Council on 24th January 2024.
• That Section 47 of The Local Government Finance Act 1988 [the act] provided Local Authorities with the power to award discretionary rate relief.
• The Council had awarded approximately £3.1m of Government funded Section 31 funding since the start of Covid-19. Most of which had been awarded to the retail and hospitality sectors.

It was confirmed that the Policy that was presented had not been changed other than when relief could be awarded, which the Council could set. The proposed changes were as follows:

a)       The application for relief was made and determined within 6 months of the end of that financial year; and

b)       Where a hereditament was entered into the rating list for the first time and an application for relief was made within 3 months of the hereditament entering the rating list.

It was reported that this was an important policy that would help protect the Council having to back fund changes over previous years.

This report had been pre-scrutinised by the Finance and Budget Working Group when a number of areas had been raised as follows:

1)              What was the actual definition of “Rural”?

Rural Rate Relief was available for properties which were within rural settlements as identified in the authority’s rural settlement list.  A rural settlement was one wholly or partly within the authority’s area, which had a population of less than 3,000, and was within a rural area as designated by the Secretary of State.

Rural areas were designated in The Non-Domestic Rating (Rural Settlements) (England) Order 1997 – defined rural areas as those areas identified within: The Housing (Right to Acquire or Enfranchise) (Designated Rural Areas in the West Midlands) Order 1997.

Relevant areas within Bromsgrove District were whole Parishes of Belbroughton, Bentley Pauncefoot, Beoley, Dodford with Grafton, Hunnington, Tutnall and Cobley.

Specific Areas within the Parish reference by Maps were Alvechurch, Clent, Frankley, Romsley, Stoke Prior, Wythall and the unparished area (bounded by the parishes of Cofton Hackett, Alvechurch, Tutnall Cobley, Stoke Prior, Dodford with Grafton, Belbroughton, Romsley; and by the borough constituency of Birmingham Northfield in the West Midlands.

The Non-Domestic Rating (Rural Settlements) (England) Order 1998 were identified as Finstall.

There were no relevant areas for Bromsgrove District Council in respect of Non-Domestic Rating (Rural Settlements) (England) (No. 2) Order 1998     

The Non-Domestic Rating (Rural Settlements) (England) Order 1999 were identified as Barnt Green, Bourneheath, Catshill and Lickey.

2)              The word “Mainly” was used in the Policy – what was meant by mainly?

The phrase “wholly or mainly used” referred to the use of the premises. 

Mainly was usually considered to be more than half – so for example where a charity shop was required to be used wholly or mainly for the sale of goods donated to the charity the expectation would be that all of the goods were donated (wholly) or more than 50% of the goods were donated (mainly).

In some cases, the “wholly or mainly” test also considered the extent of, or actual use of a property, for example a large four storey building where the top three floors were left vacant and the bottom floor was occupied by a charity and used for charitable purposes would not be considered to be “wholly or mainly” used for charitable purposes as the property is “mainly” unoccupied and not in use.

Members requested that the above explanation be provided in a supplementary papers pack for the Full Council meeting due to take place on 21^st February 2024 when this report was to be considered.

RECOMMENDEDthat

the amended Non-Domestic Rates Discretionary Relief policy be approved and adopted from 1^st April 2024.