Discretionary Rate Relief - Frequently Asked Questions
What is discretionary rate relief?
Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 gives the council the authority to award relief to charities and other not for profit organisations, in accordance with rules determined by the authority. Current policy here.
What is mandatory rate relief?
Registered Charities are entitled to a mandatory 80% reduction of any rates they are due to pay on a property which is wholly or mainly used for charitable purposes.
What is the top up awarded in addition to mandatory relief?
The council also has delegated discretionary powers to supplement the award of mandatory relief by up to 20% of the rate charge, (i.e. a discretionary 20% top up).
How are the relief’s funded?
The cost of awarding discretionary rate relief up to 100% is 75% funded from Central Government with the council funding 25%. If we grant discretionary relief to 'top up' 80% Mandatory relief, the council pays 75% and Central Government pays 25% of the 20% 'top up'.
Who receives discretionary rate relief?
A number of organisations and groups are currently in receipt of discretionary rate relief. This has been broken down by percentage in the table below.
Group/organisation
/ %Animal Support / 2.15 %
Arts & Artists / 22.46 %
Community Groups / 9.54 %
Minority Groups / 2.15 %
Other organisations / 11.38 %
Religious Groups / 3.38 %
Sports & Leisure / 20.92 %
Support Groups / 8.92 %
Youth Groups / 19.08 %
How does the council fund discretionary rate relief?
The current budget is £216,000, and we are currently forecasting a budget overspend to bring us to a total of £400,000. The budget and overspend is funded from within the Revenues & Benefits budget.
Why are we changing the policy?
The current policy does not allow the council to restrict the award of DRR when the budget has been spent. As a result we are now faced with an overspend.
What are the proposed changes?
We are proposing to, with immediate effect, cease awarding discretionary rate relief on any new applications from today.
How will I be affected?
Current recipients of discretionary rate relief will not be affected in relation to the properties they already occupy and receive support for – this proposal will only affect applicants who have not already submitted forms in relation to new buildings.
Existing beneficiaries will also not be affected if they move from an existing premise into a new one.
How will new applications be dealt with?
New applications received during the consultation will be held pending the outcome of the consultation.
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