Purpose

At the 2025 Autumn Budget the Chancellor
announced that the 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief (SSBR)
scheme to support businesses from 1 April 2026. This support will
limit bill increases following the April 2026 revaluation.

On 27 January 2026, the government announced that eligible pubs and
live music venues in England will receive a 15% reduction on their
business rates bills for the 2026/27 financial year.

The government expects all local authorities to use its
discretionary powers to adopt a local policies to provide rate
relief to all eligible businesses, and has provided guidance to
local authorities. This report seeks approval of policies to
support local businesses.

Decision

On 16 March 2026,
Cllr Jeremy Heron, the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate
made the following decision:
To approve the
Pubs and Live Music Venue rate relief policy (Appendix 1) and
Supporting Small Business relief policy (Appendix 2).
This decision is
not for call-in.  This is because, in the opinion of the
Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officer, it should be
implemented urgently.  The business rate support will support
businesses from 1 April 2026 and the policies have been developed
as a direct response to Government policy.
Details of the
document(s) the Portfolio Holder considered are attached below.

Reasons for the decision

See Report

Alternative options considered

See Report