£13M WINDFALL IS ‘UNEXPECTED EARLY XMAS GIFT’
Business rates boost for council coffers
COUNCILS in Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire could be in line for a £13 million windfall – after being selected for a business rates pilot.
Under the Government scheme, the authorities will be allowed to keep 75 per cent of business rates growth in 2019/20 – up from the current 50 per cent – as well as receiving a share of growth since 2013/14.
Stoke-on-trent City Council has previously estimated that the pilot would generate an extra £13.26 million for town hall coffers, including £4.1 million for the Potteries.
Staffordshire County Council could be in line to gain £5.2 million, while the eight district councils, and the fire and police services, would share the remaining £3.9 million.
Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire’s retention scheme is one of 15 selected for a pilot in 2019/20. An earlier application for a 100 per cent retention scheme was turned down.
Abi Brown, deputy leader of Stokeon-trent City Council, said: “We are still working through the figures and the detail of the pilot, but this is really positive news for the city, especially as we understand the schemes were selected based on economic growth.
“That is something we have been striving for in Stoke-on-trent over the last three-and-a-half years, and so this is further proof that Stoke-ontrent is on the up.
“The pilot will mean people in Stoke-on-trent will get to benefit from more of the economic growth the area is seeing, with developments such as the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone.
“We are seeing increased demand for services for vulnerable residents, so we will keep that at the forefront as we consider how we use this unexpected early Christmas present.”
Mike Sutherland, cabinet member for finance at the county council, said: “I’m very pleased our application has been successful. We will be looking at the potential figures, understanding the implications and seeing how we can best use it to benefit residents and business when we learn what the final settlement will be for 2019/20.
“Although welcome, we still need a long-term solution to help local authorities such as ours cope with the increasing financial pressure of looking after older people, vulnerable adults and children and we will continue to lobby central government to recognise the growing demands being placed on local authorities.”
The Government is planning to introduce 75 per cent business rates retention to all councils from 2020. It also wants to introduce changes to give council’s ‘levers and incentives’ to grow their local economies.
Stoke-on-trent South MP Jack Brereton said: “The city council makes crucial, difficult decisions every day to deliver services that all of us depend on. It is right the council should have more control over how business rates paid by local companies are spent, so we can build our economy and grow jobs.”