Multiple operator voices concerns over councils' 'lax' approach to rates rebates

Ian Price, who owns 16 pubs that are all under different authorities, has hit out at the way councils are dealing with issuing the discounts, following George Osborne’s announcement that pubs with a rateable value of under £50,000 will get a rebate of £1,000 over the next two years.

The relief is discretionary and each council has the power to decide whether or not it should be granted and set up a scheme to administer the refund.

However, as the relief is funded by the Government, it is expected most councils will apply the relief to pubs.

Price, who is also a trade consultant for Pub Solutions, said he has written to the 16 authorities and, while some say they will apply the credit against the next rates bill, others have claimed they have not approved the discount or that licensees must fill out an application form.

One even claimed it does not yet have the software to provide the refund.

'Not fair'​

“It’s no problem for me to fire emails off and start banging the drum with councils, but a publican who has no administrative skills — and I see this so often — is left there thinking ‘I could do with some relief here on my rates bill’, and he’s entitled to it, but because he hasn’t filled the right form in or asked the right questions, he won’t receive it automatically. It doesn’t seem fair,” he said.

He added that only one of the councils has been proactive in telling publicans that rates can now be paid in 12 monthly instalments, rather than over the current nine months.

Last week, the British Beer and Pub Association urged licensees to contact their local authority if business rates statements do not show or provide any information on the discount.