Issue - meetings

Report of the Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services) seeking delegated authority to enter into a business rates pooling arrangement with other authorities in Hertfordshire, if there is a financial case for doing so.

(Note: The Chairman of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee has been given notice that it was impracticable to comply with the requirement that at least twenty eight days notice must be given of the intention to make a key decision on the Forward Plan in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 because it was urgent and could not reasonably be deferred for the reason specified).

(1)     The reason for this item is to enable a business rates pooling arrangement to be entered into if there was a financial case for doing so.

Delegated authority was given to the Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services), in consultation with the Executive Member (Resources), to submit an application for the 2020/21 Business Rates Pooling arrangement for Hertfordshire, if after full consideration, there was a financial case for doing so.

Report of the Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services) seeking delegated authority to enter into a business rates pooling arrangement with other authorities in Hertfordshire, if there was a financial case for doing so.

(1)        The Decision Taken

RESOLVED:

That delegated authority be given to the Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services), in consultation with the Executive Member (Resources), to submit an application for the 2020/21 business rates pooling arrangement for Hertfordshire, if after full consideration, there was a financial case for doing so.

(2)        Reasons for the Decision

All Hertfordshire authorities were currently in a business rates pilot area for 2019/20 and the Government had recently confirmed that it would not invite applications for a further round of pilots in 2020-21.  However, local authorities would be able to form a business rates pool for 2020/21.

Under the current business rates retention system, District Councils were able to retain 20% of growth above the business rates baseline and the advantage of entering into a business rates pooling arrangement was that it allowed 50% of the business rates growth to be retained in the pooling area.  As previously agreed by all Hertfordshire authorities, a business rates pooling arrangement should be based on the combination of authorities that gave the greatest potential pooling gain and it was therefore not guaranteed that the Borough Council would be selected into the pool.

The business rates pooling application was currently being worked through the Hertfordshire Chief Finance Officer group and would need to be signed off and submitted by all S151 Officers of the prospective pool authorities by 25 October 2019.  Given the short timescale, it was therefore necessary to seek delegated authority to agree that the Council enter into a business rates pooling scheme for 2020/21.

(Note: The Chairman of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been given notice that it was impracticable to comply with the requirement that at least twenty eight days notice must be given of the intention to make a key decision on the Forward Plan in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 because it was urgent and could not reasonably be deferred for the reason specified).

(1)     The reason for this item was to enable a business rates pooling arrangement to be entered into if there was a financial case for doing so.