Non-domestic Rates: Westmorland

(asked on 9th September 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many shops in Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency have benefited from the reduction in business rates.


Answered by
 Portrait
Kris Hopkins
This question was answered on 28th October 2014

We have introduced a £1 billion business rate support package for 2014-15 including:

– a 2% cap in the Retail Price Index increase in the small business rates multiplier;

– a retail discount of £1,000 for around 300,000 shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000;

– a 12 month extension of small business rate relief doubling, benefitting over half a million businesses;

– a 50 per cent discount for new occupants of long-term vacant shops, and;

– allowing ratepayers to pay bills over 12 instalments.

The Department does not collect data on a constituency basis, but Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency lies entirely within the South Lakeland District. Table 1 shows, where available, the estimated number of properties that will benefit from each of the reliefs introduced or extended in 2014-15 in South Lakeland District, as well as the amount of relief awarded:

Table 1

Item

Estimated number of properties in the South Lakeland District that will benefit from these reliefs

units)

Amount of Relief Awarded

(£thousands)

2% RPI Cap on Small Business Rates Multiplier

7,782

N/A

12 month extension of small business rate relief doubling, of which:

3,412

5,5551

- 100% relief

2,653

- Tapering

759

Long Term Empty Reoccupation Relief

N/A

75

Retail Rate Relief

1,010

1,011

All data is from the 2014-15 NNDR1 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rates-collected-by-local-councils-in-england-forecast-for-2014-to-2015), except for retail rate relief data which is available from the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/353101/Estimated_number_of_properties_that_will_receive__1000_business_rates_relief.pdf

1This is the total amount of small business rates relief awarded. The breakdown for the amount awarded to properties receiving 100% and tapering relief is not available.

N/A – data not available.

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