What should councils do to help revive high streets where shops and pubs are closed or struggling? First they should do no harm. Or, try to do less harm. Business Rates are a terrible burden which councils could and should ease. A more modest but still positive impact is to allow more shops to install […]
The BBC reports that the Liberal Democrats are calling for a supermarkets tax. Lib Dem opposition councillors on Torbay are calling for a levy of 8.5% of the business rate paid by stores with a rateable value of at least £500,000. In Torbay it is estimated this would raise £804,950 by taxing eight stores. The […]
There is a community benefit in a local pub or corner shop which can sometimes be measured in economic terms but in a rather imprecise way. For example the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Estate includes a large chunk of Belgravia. I understand that they charge below market rents to butchers, bakers and grocers in streets […]
Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, says Government plans don't give councils enough incentive to promote growth I am delighted to see today's publication by the independent think tank, Centre for Cities of a comprehensive analysis of the proposals for business rate reform included in the Local Government Finance Bill. The Bill […]
By Local Government and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles Last night Parliament debated a Bill that at long last reforms local government finance.The need for reform is one of the worst kept secrets in British politics. The Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development has called England’s local government finance system one of the most centralised in […]
The Government have produced a paper entitled Supporting Local Growth which highlights the initiatives being taken to promote economic growth – even on what Lord Howe might have described as "relatively stony ground." In the foreward the Communities secretary Eric Pickles and the Business Secretary Vince Cable say: Instead of seeking to engineer growth from […]
Edward Cooke, Executive Director at retail property organisation BCSC, says future projected Business Rates should be able to finance infrastructure schemes – if the private sector takes the risk Across England and Wales town centre development is stuck in a rut. The jobs and community benefits it could herald replaced by inactivity, with local authorities […]
Alex Thomson of Localis says Government plans are a big step in the right direction Back in March, I wrote on ConHome about Localis’s then forthcoming report on the local retention of business rates. The report – ‘The Rate Escape’ – produced in partnership with Ernst and Young and available to download here, made a […]
Rob Dale, the online engagement lead at the Local Government Information Unit, welcomes the proposals but warns there will be losers as well as winners. Follow Rob on Twitter Localisation of business rates, as proposed in the Local Government Resource Review, is attractive in principle because it incentivises councils to encourage local economic growth and […]
by Paul Goodman When I was a member of the front-bench Local Government team, one of the biggest internal debates was about raising local revenue, without which there can be no lasting localism. The team tended to push and the Shadow Treasury team to resist – understandably on both counts, since the former wanted more […]
Alex Thomson of Localis says the idea that only a few councils want to retain Business Rates is nonsense All of a sudden, local government finance is a hot topic, so it is good news that Localis has an in depth report out on Monday. The punningly titled ‘The Rate Escape’, which has been produced […]
Local Government Minister Bob Neill has today written to Camden Council's leader urging him to reconsider the decision to not grant the People's Supermarket, a social enterprise initiative, a not-for-profit business rate discount. The People's Supermarket is a sustainable food cooperative working within a local area providing healthy, local food at reasonable prices. The supermarket […]
Cllr Colin Barrow, the Leader of Westminster City Council, calls on Ministers to be bold To date the Coalition’s ‘Local Government Resource Review’ announced last autumn has failed to send Twitter into meltdown or dominate national news agendas but it has the potential to radically transform the economic and democratic fortunes of towns and cities […]
Cllr Edward Lister, the Conservative leader of Wandsworth Council calls on others to expose the huge and unfair Business Rates increases the Government is planning for small business in April. Today we’re issuing an urgent call for Conservative-run local authorities to join our campaign to stop the Government’s planned business rate hike in April. We’ve […]
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has warned against the Government's damaging plan to hike business rates in London. Boris says: Watching the hoards stream over London Bridge each morning makes one think that everyone in London is employed by large city corporations. As it happens, 40% of Londoners are employed by small businesses. The […]