Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she intends to allow strategic authority mayors to utilise the powers to levy (a) council tax discounts and (b) business rate discounts available to local billing authorities.

Local authorities have powers to provide council tax reductions and business rates reliefs in certain circumstances. The Government has no current plans to legislate to provide equivalent powers to Mayoral Strategic Authorities.