The Rating Advisory Panel of Westminster Council met on Tuesday, 16 April 2024, to consider applications for discretionary and hardship relief from National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR). The meeting agenda also included standard procedural items such as noting membership changes and receiving declarations of interest.

NNDR Discretionary and Hardship Relief Applications

The primary focus of the meeting was scheduled to be the consideration of numerous applications for discretionary and hardship relief from National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR). These applications, detailed across a substantial report pack spanning pages 3 to 478, would have been presented to the panel for review. The Local Government Act 1972 allows councils to grant relief from business rates in certain circumstances, often to support businesses facing financial difficulties or to encourage economic development within the borough. The report pack indicated that these applications were to be discussed under Part 1 of the agenda, meaning they were intended to be heard in public. However, the agenda also noted a recommendation that under Section 100(A)(4) and Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press might be excluded from the meeting for these items. This exclusion would be based on the likely disclosure of exempt information, where the public interest in maintaining the exemption was considered to outweigh the public interest in disclosure. The Chief Executive, Stuart Love, signed off on the report on 2 April 2024.

The attendees for this meeting were Councillor Concia Albert, Councillor Robert Eagleton (Deputy Cabinet Member - Housing), Councillor Paul Swaddle OBE (Leader of the Opposition), and Councillor Patrick Lilley (Deputy Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Lead Member for Soho and LGBTQ+ Champion).