Decision details

To seek approval for the Council’s guidance for determining an application for discretionary pubs relief.
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 pubs relief in the Borough of Gedling.

THAT:
The Council’s guidance for determining an application for discretionary pubs relief at Appendix 1 is approved.
The determination of applications for discretionary pubs relief 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 pubs relief to the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Reputation for his determination as directed by the Council’s constitution. This would mean the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Reputation would have to consider all applications for pubs relief over the next financial year which would place an unnecessary burden on the Executive.