Issue - meetings

Purpose: to provide delegated authority to the head of finance, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance in respect of annual decisions about collaborating with other nearby local authorities on business rates arrangements. 

Cabinet considered the head of finance’s report on business rates pooling and distribution. 

The report explained that in the future the council might have the opportunity to form a ‘business rates pool’ with other principal councils in Oxfordshire and to be a member of a group of councils that shares the surpluses or losses made by the pool.  Decisions on whether to be part of the pool and the distribution group would need to be made annually and at short notice as these decisions would be dependent on government information released as part of its settlement announcement each December.  The report sought authority for the head of finance, in consultation with the Cabinet member for finance, to make the annual decisions on whether the council should enter into a “business rate pool” and/or whether to join the ‘business rate distribution group’.  Cabinet agreed with the proposal. 

RESOLVED: to

(a)       authorise the head of finance, in consultation with the Cabinet member for finance, to make annual decisions on whether the council should enter into a “business rate pool” with other local authorities if it appears to be financially advantageous to do so; and

(b)       authorise the head of finance, in consultation with the Cabinet member for finance, to make annual decisions on whether the council should enter into a “business rate distribution group” with other local authorities if it appears to be financially advantageous to do so.