Report of the Director of Finance (S151 Officer)

The subject of the decision:

The Director of Finance (S151 Officer) presented a report which sought a review on the revised Discretionary Rate Relief Policy (DRRP) effective from 1 April 2017 prior to it being presented to Cabinet on 7 February 2017 for approval at Council on 21 February 2017.

The Committee had deferred this matter from the meeting of Audit, Governance and Standards Committee held at 9.30am on Tuesday, 24 January 2017 in order to undertake an in-depth review of the proposals prior to making any recommendations to Cabinet for consideration.

Councillor Wilkinson informed the Committee that he had taken advice from the Director of Law & Governance (Monitoring Officer) with regards to him being the Deputy Leader on Cabinet and also a member of this Committee.  It was clarified that Councillor Wilkinson could vote at Audit, Governance & Standards Committee on any issue raised with regards to the Discretionary Rate Relief Policy and would present the report at Cabinet.  However, he would not vote on the matter at Cabinet in order to avoid any perception that he had pre-determined the issue at Cabinet.

Members went on to consider issues in relation to the Discretionary Rate Relief Policy, namely:-

·         the policy wording and areas included in the policy;

·         the policy previously approved in 2006, and organisations that can are allowed mandatory relief under statute;

·         the ‘matrix’ which officers use as an operational tool to determine if an organisation is eligible for Discretionary Rate Relief; and

·         the financial implications of granting Discretionary Rate Relief to organisations

It was proposed by Councillor G W Dadd and seconded by Councillor R W Hudson that the wording of the Discretionary Rate Relief Policy be amended to provide for recognition of organisations that facilitate the provision of public services.

Following a vote the motion was not carried.

Alternative options considered:

None.

The reason for the decision:

To enable the Committee to undertake an in-depth review of the proposed revised Discretionary Rate Relief Policy and make recommendations to Cabinet.

THE DECISION:

Members reviewed the Discretionary rate Relief Policy and no amendments were made or recommended to Cabinet.