Changes to business rates might harm charities, say NCVO and CFG
- 25 Sep
Their response to a consultation says proposals could lead to a reduction in the discretionary level of rate relief offered to charities by councils.
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Charity Finance Group have warned that proposed changes to business rates might harm charities.
Both organisations made the claims in response to a consultation document, Business Rates Retention: technical consultation, put out by the Department for Communities and Local Government, which closed on Monday.
The department proposes to increase the level of business rate retained by local authorities from 25 per cent to 50 per cent by 2013.
A joint statement from the NCVO and the CFG said the move would encourage local authorities to collect greater levels of business rates and might result in some councils reducing the levels of discretionary rate relief they offer in order to do so.
Charities are eligible for 80 per cent mandatory business rate relief but often receive discretionary relief on the remaining 20 per cent from the relevant local authority.
The joint statement released said:
"Our concern is that this will result in local authorities being less likely to grant discretionary relief to charities in the future because they will gain a greater share of the money that each charity pays through business rates.
The reliefs that organisations currently claim play a crucial part in enabling them to operate successfully. Any changes that lead to an incentive for local authorities to cut discretionary rates will take much-needed money out of the charity sector and should be avoided.
For organisations that are already operating in a tough financial climate, this would be an unwelcome and harmful consequence, potentially stunting the growth of local community action."Source: Third Sector
Related articles
- 20 Apr
CHARITY WORKS TOWARDS A NATIONAL PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS
Prime minister, Theresa May and the first ministers of Scotland and Wales congratulated "Crisis" on its anniversary and gave an assurance to work hand in hand with them while on a quest to eradicate...
- 30 Jan
THE FATE OF EU-FUNDED PROJECTS AND ITS EFFECT ON CHARITY SERVICES
In March 2016, forecasts of growth were low and the government's own estimates put the Treasury's coffers £122bn poorer by 2020.The supreme court has also determined that MPs must approve the...
- 15 Jun
INCREASE IN THREATS OF EVICTIONS FROM HOMES
After analysing statistics from the Ministry of Justice, the housing charity (Shelter) found the following:In the past year, the number of people seeking advice from 'Shelter' on their eviction...
- 07 Jun
CHARITIES, THEIR BRANDS, BENEFICIARIES AND HOW TO EFFECT CHANGE
"Most charities exist because their founders believed the future could be different if they mobilised supporters", but Mandy Johnson of the Guardian believes"This vision is being lost."Charities are...
- 17 Apr
Support for veterans to return to work
Places for People hopes to support veterans into the workplace and also benefit from the skills and experience they have to offer, reports 24dash.All veterans applying for jobs in Places for People's...
- 26 Jan
Charity registers as social landlord
It has now registered its housing department as a housing association, Inside Housing reports.The charity set up Golden Lane Housing (GLH) in 1998, which has now registered to be a social landlord...
- 14 Jan
Charity to develop app for people with disabilities
The funding will enable the charity to develop and test the free app, called FlyCatcher, which could be on the market by 2016.The app uses iBeacon technology to send information through smartphones...
- 14 Jan
Young people’s health harmed by fuel poverty
The Department of Energy and Climate Change have reported that 10% of households in England were in fuel poverty.The charity, Turn2us have stated that 75% of the 2,060 adults in the PRS who were...
- 08 Jan
Homelessness in Scotland
Shelter Scotland stated that this percentage is ‘disproportionate' to the sector's size which makes up 13% of all housing in Scotland, Inside Housing reports. It was also mentioned that the number...
- 07 Jan
Homelessness an ‘increasing trend’ in Wales
Cais blames the lack of options available to individuals due to the change in the type of support that can be offered.The Chief Executive of Cais, Clive Wolfendale has described the problem of...
Support Solutions 5th National Housing Support & Social Care Conference 2014 Good organisation from beginning to end. Excellent keynote speaker. Relevant and important topics for discussion which were to everyone's advantage within the supported housing sector. B.H - Stevenage Haven
