Issue - meetings
BUSINESS RATES - RETAIL, LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY RATES RELIEF SCHEME 2023/24
Meeting: 27/03/2023 - Cabinet (Item 9)
9 BUSINESS RATES - RETAIL, LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY RATES RELIEF SCHEME 2023/24 
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Minutes:
[Note: Councillors A. Davies, L.D. Evans, and P.M. Hughes, having earlier declared an interest in this item, repeated their declarations and left the meeting throughout the deliberation and voting of this item.]
The Cabinet considered a report which provided information on the adoption of a rate relief scheme being made available to billing Authorities by Welsh Government for 2023/24. The report recommended that the Cabinet adopt the 2023/24 Retail Leisure and Hospitality Rates Relief scheme as outlined in the report.
In response to the Coronavirus emergency in 2020/21, the Welsh Government announced that it would introduce the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Rates Relief scheme to increase the discount to 100%. This scheme also applied in 2021/22 and in addition to retail sector it was extended to include leisure and hospitality sectors for example shops, pubs and restaurants, gyms, performance venues and hotels.
It was reported that for 2023-24 the Welsh Government had confirmed it would provide grant funding to all 22 local authorities in Wales to provide the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Rates Relief scheme to eligible businesses.
However, for 2023/24 the scheme would provide a discount of 75% discount for eligible occupied properties. It was noted that the scheme would apply to all eligible businesses; however, the relief would be subject to a cap in the amount each business could claim across Wales. The total amount of relief available would be £110,000 across all properties occupied by the same business.
The Welsh Government had provided the types of business that they considered appropriate for this relief scheme, as well as those which were not. The non-exhaustive list of business types was appended to the report at Appendix A.
Cabinet Members noted that as this was a temporary measure and that the Welsh Government would be providing the relief by reimbursing Local Authorities that use their discretionary powers under Section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, it was appropriate for the scheme to be formally adopted.
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:
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9.1 |
the Retail Leisure and Hospitality Rates Relief Scheme be adopted for 2023/24 |
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9..2 |
the Relief be granted in accordance with the Welsh Government guidelines |
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9.3 |
the applications that are not specifically covered by the guidelines or otherwise require specific consideration, to be determined by the Cabinet Member for Resources. |