Date: 19 December 2018
Council set to receive £1.7m top-up from Business Rates
West Berkshire Council has been successful in its bid to become one of only 15 areas to be part of the Government’s Business Rates Retention pilot scheme 2019/20.
In simple terms this means the Local Authority will benefit from 75% of the total Business Rates levied in the district in 2019/20, expecting to generate a further £1.74m income.
This additional funding will be used in the main to address the council’s growing budgetary requirements, particularly around the high demand for Adult Social Care and Children’s Services. In 2018/19 £33 of every £100 of West Berkshire Council’s income was spent on Adult Social Care, a figure which is likely to increase by around 3% year on year to meet growing demand.
Commenting on the successful bid Councillor Anthony Chadley, West Berkshire’s Portfolio Holder for Finance and Transformation said:
“We are thrilled that West Berkshire has been included in the Business Rates Retention pilot scheme. We have been working hard behind the scenes to secure this result for almost a year and are pleased to see that our lobbying of government ministers has paid off.
“This announcement means that more of the money raised in West Berkshire will now stay in West Berkshire.
“Over the last 9 years we have had to make £60m in savings simply to keep providing core services. We look forward to ensuring that residents and businesses across the district reap the rewards of this additional income, which will enable us to support our vulnerable residents and to invest in projects that matter to our community.”
