Millions in business rate relief available to companies

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in his first Spring Budget a £300m discretionary fund for businesses badly hit by the shake up and the Government published a consultation on how this relief fund should be divided up.

Included in this was how local authorities could exercise discretion in granting relief and, over the weekend, the Department for Communities and Local Government confirmed that the final allocations to local authorities will be made according to the draft allocations published as part of the consultation.

The boss of business rent and rates specialists CVS said this effectively means that councils are free to start using the scheme and helping local businesses.

Across the whole of Yorkshire & The Humber, businesses have access to £18.4m worth of discretionary relief.

Mark Rigby, Chief Executive of CVS said: “I am heartened that the Department for Communities and Local Government have sought to clarify their stance over this important and much needed initiative. Business rates bills have already been sent out and the first tax instalment has been collected, so it’s vital that available relief is granted to those who need it as urgently as possible.”

A DCLG Spokesman said: “Councils should establish their own schemes to distribute funds to local firms and can claim the funding from DCLG as soon as their schemes are up and running.”

The revaluation of business rates is effectively revenue neutral for the Government and was designed to make the system fairer by ensuring rates reflected the value of the local property.

The last revaluation was supposed to take place in 2015 but was delayed due to the general election.