Issue - meetings

Local Government Resource Review Business Rates Reform

Meeting: 13/10/2011 - Cabinet (Item 153)

153 Local Government Resource Review Business Rates Reform pdf icon PDF 115 KB

Report to follow.

 

This paper follows the report at Cabinet on 22 September. Consultation on the proposals ends on 24 October 2011. Officers are preparing a response, but need to take account of a full analysis of the eight technical papers which is still being undertaken nationally, and with colleagues in the Liverpool City Region and SIGOMA.

 

 

 

Minutes:

A report by the Director of Finance informed that the Local Government Resource Review had been launched by the Government on 17 March 2011.  The central issue was the repatriation of business rates whereby local councils kept their local business taxes with grant dependence scaled back except where it was needed to protect the interests of taxpayers.  The intention was to set an initial baseline and local authorities whose business rates income was higher than this would pay the difference to the Government by way of a tariff.  Those whose income was less than the baseline would receive the balance in the form of a top up.

 

Reports presented to the Cabinet meetings on 14 April 2011 and 22 September 2011 had outlined the basic proposals The latest consultation set out the proposed core components for a business rates retention system.  In addition it set out how Tax Incremental Financing would operate within the system.  It further outlined how the proposals interacted with the wider Government initiatives to promote growth, including the New Homes Bonus.

 

In addition to the core proposals there were a further eight technical papers to which councils could respond.  These provided further details on the topics covered in the core consultation and a brief summary of them was included in the report.  Appendix 1 to the report contained a proposed response to the core consultation but not the technical aspects which purely informed the overall response.

 

Councillor S Foulkes raised concerns about Business Rates reform proposals and informed that this matter had been raised at the meeting to discuss Wirral’s financial situation with the with Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Bob Neill on 6 September 2011.

 

The Director of Finance reported that discussions were still ongoing between the Council, the Liverpool City Region and the Special Interest Group of Metropolitan Authorities (SIGOMA) on a number of technical issues which must be concluded by 24 October 2011 and the outcome would be taken into account before the Council’s consultation response was finalised.

 

Councillor H Smith made representations to the Director of Finance in respect of his reports not containing a paragraph on Financial Implications and requested that he ensure that his reports did include this information in future.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  the response to the core consultation be agreed; and

 

(2)  any final amendments be agreed by the Director of Finance in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Party Leaders.