Open the Business rates guide 2012/13 - Lambeth Council

Business rates
April 2012 – March 2013
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10318 FR (03.2012)

Welcome from the Leader
Dear Business Owner,
One of our key commitments as a council is to promote a thriving
local economy to help local businesses. During the tough times we are all
experiencing we want you to know your council is on your side.
Many of you will recall the scenes of disorder last summer when many local
businesses suffered. As a borough that benefits from a huge number of small
family-run businesses this was devastating, but it served to remind us how
important it is to promote a positive sense of community here in our wonderful
and vibrant borough. Lambeth needs successful local businesses that keep
our town centres buzzing, create jobs, and generate wealth.
Our commitment to becoming a co-operative council is about giving the
people who use our services a bigger say over how they are run. That includes
local businesses who use our services, and we want to know how we can
use this new approach to help you. You can find out more by visiting
www.lambeth.gov.uk/cooperativecouncil. We want to tap into your knowledge,
experience and commitment to our borough to help us change as a council
over the coming years so we can serve you better in the future.
We want Lambeth to be open to business and open for business. The best
way to do that is to work together.
Councillor Steve Reed, Leader of Lambeth Council
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What you have to pay
The amount of business rates you pay is determined by
the rateable value of your property and the business rate
multiplier, which is set by Government each year.
Rateable value
Apart from properties that are exempt
from business rates, all non-domestic
properties, which are mostly businesses,
have a rateable value. The rateable
value is set based upon a professional
assessment by the Valuation Office
Agency (VOA), which is part of HM
Revenues and Customs. A list of the
property values and more information
is available at www.voa.gov.uk
The rateable value of your property
is shown on the front of your bill.
This broadly represents the annual
rent the property could have been let
for on the open market on a particular
date. The current rating of your
property is based upon a valuation
date of 1 April 2008.
The business rate multiplier
We work out your bill by multiplying
the rateable value of the property by
the appropriate multiplier. There are
two different multipliers; the standard
non-domestic rating multiplier and the
small business non-domestic rating
multiplier. The standard multiplier
includes a supplement for small
business rate relief. For 2012/13
the standard rating multiplier is 45.8p
and the small business rating multiplier
is 45p.
The Government sets the multipliers
for each financial year for England,
except for the City of London where
special arrangements apply. The
multipliers usually change every year
in line with inflation and to account for
the cost of small business rate relief.
Every five years the VOA carries out a
revaluation of all business properties –
the most recent one came into effect
on 1 April 2010. In the year of a
revaluation, the multipliers are set at
a level that will keep the total amount
raised in rates after the revaluation the
same as before, plus inflation for that
year. The current multipliers are shown
on the front of your bill.
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How to reduce your payment
What if I think my valuation is
wrong?
The VOA may alter the value if
circumstances change. The ratepayer
(and certain others who have an
interest in the property) can appeal the
value shown if they believe it is wrong.
For more information about the
grounds for appeal and the process
involved, visit www.voa.gov.uk. Please
remember that you must continue
to make your payments while your
appeal is being considered.
Rating advisers
There is no charge for appealing
the rateable value of your business
property and you do not have to be
represented in discussions about your
rateable value or rates bill. You may
wish to get advice from a professional.
If you do want to be represented be
aware that members of the Royal
Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(www.rics.org.uk) and the Institute
of Revenues Rating and Valuation
(www.irrv.org.uk) are qualified and
regulated by rules of professional
conduct. Before you employ a rating
adviser, please check they have the
necessary knowledge, expertise and
appropriate indemnity insurance.
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Some businesses and organisations may be eligible
for relief on their rates.
Small business rate relief
Small business rate relief is available
to ratepayers who contact us and
who occupy one main property and
other additional properties providing
those additional properties each have
a rateable value of less than £2,599.
The rateable value of the property
mentioned in (a) or the aggregate
rateable value of all properties
mentioned in (b) must be under
£17,999 outside London, or £25,499
in London on every day for which relief
is being sought. If the rateable value
or aggregate rateable value increases
above those levels, relief will cease
from the day of the increase.
For ratepayers who satisfy these
conditions, we will calculate the bill for
their single or main property using the
lower small business non-domestic
rating multiplier, rather than the ordinary
non-domestic multiplier that is used to
calculate the liability of other businesses.
In addition, if the single or main property
is shown on the rating list with a
rateable value of up to £12,000, you
will receive a percentage reduction
in your bill for this property of up to a
maximum of 50 per cent for a property
with a rateable value of not more
than £6,000.
If relief is granted, provided your
circumstances do not change, the
relief will not need to be renewed until
the next revaluation of non-domestic
premises, which happens every
five years.
Central Government has extended
the temporary increase in this relief
until 31 March 2013. Eligible
ratepayers will receive relief
at 100 per cent on properties with
a rateable value below £6,000, with
a tapered relief of between 100 per
cent and 0 per cent for properties
with a rateable value between £6,001
and £12,000.
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You will need to tell us about certain
changes in your circumstances,
including:
(a) If you take up occupation of an
additional property after relief was
granted.
(b) An increase in the rateable value
of a property occupied by you in an
area other than the area of the local
authority which granted the relief.
You must notify us of these changes
within four weeks of the day the
change happened. Providing you do
this, there will be no interruption to
your entitlement to the relief.
Notice of an increase in rateable value
must be given in writing.
We appreciate that the criteria for this
relief might sound complicated despite
our best efforts to explain it, so to
discuss it, or for further information,
call our business rates helpline on
020 8315 2255 or go to
www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk
Charities and registered
community amateur sports
club relief
Charities and registered community
amateur sports clubs are entitled to
80 per cent relief where the property
is occupied by the charity or club and
is wholly or mainly used for charitable
purposes or as a registered
community amateur sports club.
We have discretion to give further
relief on the remaining bill. For
more information and to request an
application form, call our business
rates helpline on 020 8315 2255.
Non-profit making
organisation relief
We decide whether to give relief to
non-profit making organisations. For
more information and to request an
application form, call our business
rates helpline on 020 8315 2255.
The application form for Discretionary
Rate Relief (DRR) is available to
download from the council’s website,
www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/Busine
ss/BusinessRates/BusinessRatesRed
uctions.htm
Hardship relief
We are able to decide whether to give
relief because of special circumstances.
For more information and to request an
application form, call our business rates
helpline on 020 8315 2255.
Rating for unoccupied
property
Business rates will not be payable in
the first three months that a property
is empty. This is extended to six
months for certain industrial
properties. After this period, rates are
payable at the standard occupied rate
unless the unoccupied rate has been
reduced by the Government by order.
If the unoccupied property rate for
the financial year has been reduced
by order, it will be shown on the
front of the bill.
In most cases, the unoccupied
property rate is zero for properties
owned by charities and community
amateur sports clubs. In addition, there
are a number of exemptions from this
rate. More details on those exemptions
are available by calling our business
rates helpline on 020 8315 2255.
Partly occupied property relief
You must pay the full non-domestic
rate whether a property is completely
or partly occupied. If a property is
partly occupied for a short time, we
may decide to award relief for the
unoccupied part. Find out more
from our business rates helpline on
020 8315 2255.
The transition scheme
Property values normally change
between each revaluation. Transitional
arrangements help to phase in the
effect of these changes by limiting
increases in bills.
To help pay for this, there also have
to be limits on reductions in bills.
Under the transition scheme, limits
continue to apply to yearly increases
and decreases until the full amount is
due (rateable value multiplied by the
appropriate multiplier). The scheme
applies only to the bill based on a
property at the time of the revaluation.
If there have been any changes to
the property after 1 April 2010, the
transitional arrangements will not
normally apply to the part of a bill
that relates to any increase in rateable
value due to those changes. Any
transitional adjustments are shown
on the front of your bill. Find out more
by calling our business rates helpline
on 020 8315 2255 or by visiting
www.mybusinessrates.gov.uk
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7

How to pay your business rates
Your bill shows you how much your business rates charge
is for the year. Payments must be received on or before the
date that they are due. Please allow up to seven working
days for your payment to reach your account.
Late payments are treated in the
same way as missed payments. If you
pay late you will receive a reminder,
you may lose your right to pay by
instalments and be summonsed to
court incurring costs.
Direct Debit
The council’s preferred method of
payment is Direct Debit. Please
call the business rates helpline on
020 8315 2255 with your bank details
and they will set this up for you. You
can also complete a mandate online
at www.lambeth.gov.uk/payments. As
a Direct Debit payer, you are given the
opportunity to receive future business
rates bills by email.
In order to take advantage of this,
simply email your request to
businessrates@lambeth.gov.uk giving
details of the relevant business rates
account numbers and email
addresses that you want us to use
when we issue your bills.
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Pay on-line
Visit www.lambeth.gov.uk/payments
to pay with your credit or debit card
using our secure service. A charge
isapplied to payments made by credit
card.
By telephone
Call 020 8290 2086 to pay with your
credit or debit card. Our automated
service is open 24 hours a day, every
day. Full instructions on using the
service are given in your call. A charge
will be applied to payments made by
credit card.
By post
If you are sending a payment this
should be addressed to the Lambeth
Cashiers Service, PO Box 67060,
18 Brixton Hill, London, SW2 9HQ.
Cheques should be made payable to
‘The London Borough of Lambeth’.
Please write your account number on
the back. If you require a receipt you
should enclose a stamped addressed
envelope. If you are paying for more
than one account, please make sure
the reference numbers and amounts
are clearly shown. Please do not send
post-dated cheques as the council
cannot accept responsibility for
charges made by your bank resulting
from problems with such cheques.
In person
Take your bill, together with your
payment to Lambeth Cashiers, Olive
Morris House, 18 Brixton Hill, London
SW2 1RD. The opening hours are
Monday to Friday between 9am
and 5pm.
You can also make a cash payment
at a PayPoint outlet.
At any bank
If you are unable to pay by Direct
Debit, you may pay by bank giro
credit, by taking the appropriate
payment slip to any bank. Banks may
charge for such transactions.
New online service
You can now go online to view your
business rates balance and payments.
You will also be able to make
payments by credit or debit card, set
up a Direct Debit, sign up for e-billing
and report a change of address. Visit
www.lambeth.gov.uk/businessrates
Contact us
If you need any help or advice
on payment matters, or would like
to discuss your account you can:
Call: business rates helpline
020 8315 2255
Email: businessrates@lambeth.gov.uk
Web: www.lambeth.gov.uk/
businessrates
Write to: Lambeth Business Rates
PO Box 67072, London SW2 9JE.
Business Rates Deferral
Scheme
The Government has decided to put
in place a scheme to help businesses
manage their cash flow during the
downturn. It gives you the option
of spreading the Retail Price Index
increase in your 2012/13 bill over
three years. You will be able to defer
payment of 3.2% of your 2012/13 bill
– which is equivalent to 60% of the
Retail Price Index increase - until
2013-14 and 2014/15. You will then
pay back the total amount deferred
over the next two years. For full
details of the scheme please see
the letter and application form
included with your bill or visit
www.lambeth.gov.uk/businessrates
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How the council’s money will be spent
In 2012/13, the council’s income will be made up of grants
from the government, fees and charges, rates from local
businesses and council taxes from residents.
This section gives details
of how this money will be
spent.
Capital expenditure
The council’s capital
expenditure plans,
based on government
allocations and
known supplementary
allocations are shown
in this table (right).
Capital expenditure refers
to money spent on our
assets, such as buildings.
Revenue expenditure
Revenue expenditure
(on the next page)
refers to money spent
on day-to-day running
of the council, such as
delivery of services.
Proposed capital expenditure 2012/13
Department £’000
Adults’ and Community Services 8,960
Children and Young People's Services 56,382
Finance and Resources 4,224
Office of the Chief Executive 0
Housing,Regeneration & Environment (incl HRA) 98,175
Total 167,741
Outstanding loans as at 31/03/12
Type of borrowing £’000
Public works loans board 412,957
Change in net budget requirement
£’000
Budget requirement 2011/12 319,300
Surplus on Collection Fund 0
Lambeth budget 2011/12 319,300
Transfers, Adjustments and Inflation 15,816
Net Savings (28,393)
Grants Rolled In (54)
Council Tax Freeze Grant (2,510)
Lambeth Budget 2012/13 304,159
Surplus on Collection Fund 0
Budget requirement 2012/13 304,159
2012/13 compared with 2011/12
Department
2011/12 2012/13
Net
Budget
Council
spending
Money
raised
from
grants,
fees and
charges
Net
Budget
£m £m £m £m
Adults and Community Services 123.806 152.262 (34.749) 117.513
Children and Young People’s Services 66.557 300.301 (236.391) 63.910
Finance and Resources 24.840 329.151 (300.238) 28.913
Office of the Chief Executive 5.831 6.084 (0.472) 5.612
Housing, Regeneration and
Environment (General Fund)
40.042 94.401 (59.004) 35.397
Corporate items 58.224 60.969 (8.155) 52.814
Budget requirement 319.300 943.168 (639.009) 304.159
Surplus on the Collection Fund (0.000) 0.000
Formula grant 220.795 203.743
Lambeth council tax requirement 98.505 100.416
Greater London Authority (GLA)
council tax requirement
32.983 33.286
Total council tax requirement 134
Council tax base (number of
band D equivalent properties)
106,459.0 108,524.0
Lambeth band D council tax (£) 925.29 925.29
GLA band D council tax (£) 309.82 306.72
Total band D amount (£) 1,235.11 1,232.01
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Section 4 – How the GLA and other bodies will spend
How the GLA and other bodies
will spend
Council Tax and Budget Information
The GLA Group’s share of the council tax for a typical Band D property has
been reduced to £306.72 – a cut of one per cent. A Band D council tax payer
in the City of London – which has its own police force – will pay £81.87.
The table below shows how the council tax (at Band D) is allocated.
Council tax (band D) 2011/12 Change 2012/13
MOPC (Met Police) 227.95 +0.15 228.10
LFEPA (London fire brigade) 52.20 -12.66 39.54
GLA (City Hall) & Olympics 27.68 +9.43 37.11
TfL (Transport) 1.99 -0.02 1.97
Total band D (£) 309.82 -3.10 306.72
• Co-ordinating £221m of investment to support London’s high streets and
those areas hardest hit by the August 2011 disturbances, so communities
emerge from the economic downturn stronger.
• Delivering 50,000 more affordable homes and 100,000 apprenticeships for
young people by the end of 2012 as well as providing secure ongoing funding
for the four rape crisis centres located across London.
2012 Olympics and Paralympics
The GLA will seek to ensure the benefits of the Games are seen London wide in
order to deliver a lasting legacy.
Summary of GLA Group Budget
The following tables compare the GLA group’s spending for 2012–13 with last
year and the reasons for the changes. The change in gross expenditure reflects
the impact of the phasing of transport investment and savings within the GLA
Group. Overall the council requirement is broadly unchanged – although the
Band D precept has been cut by £3.10. More information on the budget is
available on the GLA website at www.london.gov.uk. (tel: 020 7983 4000).
Investing in Front Line Services
The Mayor of London who approves the GLA budget and council tax, has put
value for money at the very heart of his administration and has controlled costs
tightly as well as ruthlessly cutting out waste. His budget will protect vital front
line services by:
• Investing in front line policing – ensuring that there will be 1,000 more
warranted police officers at the end of his current Mayoral term than at the
beginning. The Metropolitan Police will continue to drive down crime – which
has fallen by more than 10 percent since 2008.
• Investing £22 billion to upgrade the Tube and deliver Crossrail, which will
increase London’s rail capacity by 10 per cent and maintaining London’s bus
network and existing concessionary travel schemes in full, including the 24 hour
Freedom Pass for older and disabled Londoners.
12
How the GLA budget is funded (£m) 2011-12 Change 2012-13
Gross Expenditure (net of intra group spend) 13,801 -146 13,655
Fares, charges and other income -6,151 -452 -6,603
General and specific Government grants -6,413 113 -6,300
Use of reserves -294 487 193
Surplus in council tax collection funds -8 -2 -10
Amount met by council tax payers (£m) 935 0 935
Changes in spending £m
2011/12 council tax requirement 935
Inflation 92
Efficiencies and other savings -272
Growth for existing services and new initiatives 157
Other changes (including income growth) 23
2012/13 council tax requirement 935
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Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
Lee Valley Regional Park is a unique leisure, sports and environmental destination
for all residents of London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The 26 mile long, 10,000
acre Park, much of it formerly derelict land, is partly funded by a levy on the
council tax.
For the second year there has been a 2% decrease in this levy. Find out more
about hundreds of great days out, world class sports venues and award winning
parklands at www.leevalleypark.org.uk
Budget/levy charges – 2011/2012 to 2012/2013 (£’000) 2011/12 2012/13
£m £m
Gross operating expenditure 16.8 18.3
Gross operating income (7.5) (8.8)
Net service operating costs 9.3 9.5
Financing costs – debt servicing/repayments 0.7 0.7
– new capital investment 2.0 1.5
Total net expenditure 12.0 11.7
Further details on how this budget is spent and the amount each council
contributes can be found at www.leevalleypark.org.uk.
The London Pensions Fund Authority
The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) raises a levy each year to meet
expenditure on premature retirement compensation and outstanding personnel
matters for which LPFA is responsible and cannot charge to the pension fund.
These payments relate to former employees of the Greater London Council (GLC),
the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) and the London Residuary Body (LRB).
For 2012/13, the income to be raised by levies is set out below. The Greater
London levy is payable in all boroughs, the Inner London levy only in Inner London
Boroughs (including the City of London). The figures show the total to be raised
and, in brackets, the percentage change on the previous year.
2011/12 income to be raised by levies
Inner London £13,065k (0%)
Greater London £10,318k (0%)
Total £23,383k (0%)
Western Riverside Waste Authority
Western Riverside Waste Authority is the statutory waste disposal authority for
the London Boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth and Wandsworth
and for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
The Authority’s waste management policies are led by the waste hierarchy
principles of waste reduction, reuse and recycling, with the balance of residual
waste being transported from the Authority’s two transfer stations via the River
Thames to a new Energy from Waste Facility on the Thames at Belvedere, which
became fully operational during 2011/12. The Authority has therefore already
achieved the Mayor of London’s 2025 target of zero municipal waste direct to
landfill. The Authority and its constituent councils agreed on a new basis of cost
apportionment from 2009/10.
Under the agreement, intended to run for eight years, the Authority recovers the
costs of waste delivered by its constituent councils at a rate per tonne according
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15

to the nature of the waste recycled or disposed of. There is a residual annual
levy, apportioned on the basis of council tax-base, for overheads and civic
amenity waste.
The estimated costs to constituent councils for 2012/13 compared to the original
budgeted cost in 2011/12 are shown in the table below.
Council
Hammersmith
& Fulham
Kensington and
Chelsea
16
2012/13 2012/13 2012/13 2011/12
Direct
costs
Levy
Total
costs
Total
costs
Increase
Increase
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 %
9,111 809 9,920 9,729 191 1.97
9,413 1,007 10,420 10,304 116 1.13
Lambeth 14,295 1,096 15,391 15,585 -194 -1.24
Wandsworth 12,111 1,297 13,408 13,179 229 1.74
Total 44,930 4,209 49,139 48,797 342 0.70
Total net costs have increased by 0.7% compared to the original budget for
2011/12. This is due to increased contract costs as all waste is sent to the new
Energy from Waste Facility, capital financing costs for the Material Recovery
Facility (MRF), and general inflation, which are off-set by decreases in the volume
of waste managed and adjustments for inflation allowances on charges and the
Levy using a contribution from the General Reserve. The increase is not uniform
for all four boroughs, however, mainly because each has experienced different
decreases in their budgeted waste streams between the two financial years.
For more information on Western Riverside Waste Authority visit
www.wrwa.gov.uk
Environment Agency South East Region
The Environment Agency is a levying body for its Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk
Management Functions under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and
the Environment Agency (Levies) (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.
The Environment Agency has powers in respect of flood and coastal erosion risk
management for 5200 kilometres of main river and along tidal and sea defences
in the area of the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee. Money is
spent on the construction of new flood defence schemes, the maintenance of the
river system and existing flood defences together with the operation of a flood
warning system and management of the risk of coastal erosion. The financial
details are:
Thames regional flood defence committee
2011/2012 2012/2013
£’000 £’000
Gross expenditure 86,484 86,484
Levies raised 10,000 10,000
Total council tax base 5,082 5,081
The majority of funding for flood defence comes directly from the Department
for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). However, under the new
Partnership Funding rule not all schemes will attract full central funding. To provide
‘matching’ funding the Agency may seek funding from County and Metropolitan
Councils, Unitary Authorities and London Boroughs in the form of a Local Levy.
The Local Levy is shared on the basis of Band D Equivalents between all
contributing bodies within the Committee Area.
Changes in the Gross Budgeted expenditure between the years reflects the
impact of the Government Spending Review and national prioritisation of capital
projects.
The total Local Levy raised has remained the same in 2012/2013 as 2011/2012
at £10,000,000.
17

Our service standards
You have the right to expect decent, good quality and easily
accessible council services and information. It is our job to
make sure that this is delivered.
Our service standards detail the type
of service you can expect from the
council and how you will receive it.
If you call one of our advertised
telephone numbers we will:
• aim to answer your call within five
rings
• divert our phone to a colleague or
voicemail if we are unavailable
• tell you our department and give
you our name when we answer
• return your phone calls within two
working days or when you ask us to
• provide a telephone interpreting
service if you are hard of hearing,
deaf or speak a different language.
If you visit one of our customer
centres we will:
• welcome you and offer assistance
to help
• ensure all of our staff are wearing
a name badge and can be easily
identified
• provide a pleasant, clean, tidy and
safe reception area
• direct you to the appropriate
person or team
• keep waiting times as short as
possible for customers without an
appointment
• if you have an appointment with us
we will see you within 20 minutes of
your appointment time
• ensure everyone can gain easy
access to our services.
If you send us an email, website
form or write to us we will:
• aim to acknowledge your
correspondence within two working
days and respond fully within 10
working days
• update you on progress and advise
you when we can respond if we are
unable to respond in full
• provide well-structured responses,
using plain language responding to
all the points raised.
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