Decision details

The purpose of this report is:
To seek approval for the Council’s guidance for determining an application for discretionary retail discount.
To delegate to the Director responsible for Revenues Services the authority to determine applications for discretionary relief under section 47 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 in relation to non-domestic retail premises in the Borough of Gedling.

THAT:
(a) the Council’s guidance for determining an application for discretionary retail discount at Appendix 1 is approved.
(b) the determination of applications for discretionary retail discount in the first instance is delegated to the Director responsible for Revenues Services.

The Council is expected by Government to grant relief in line with the guidance it has published. No other guidance has been published by Government on this subject.
To ensure efficient decision making and avoid the Executive from becoming overwhelmed by applications, it is appropriate that this function is delegated to Officers.
It is considered that such determinations, where explicit guidance is accepted and adopted, are a standard revenues function and should be performed by the Council’s officers and not its members.

The alternative to the proposal would be to report each application for retail discount to the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Reputation for his determination as directed by the Council’s constitution. Currently this would mean the Portfolio Holder would have to consider over 400 applications in the first instance and then an estimated 5-10 applications per week over the next two financial years. This would place an unnecessary burden on the Executive.