AQW 22141/17-22

Mr Andrew Muir
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 09/09/2021
Answered On Date: 20/09/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance (i) when the last comprehensive review of exemptions and reliefs from non-domestic rates in Northen Ireland took place; (ii) what changed as a result of this review; and (iii) whether this review was comparative with the rest of the UK.

Answer:

As the member will be aware, my Department initiated a major strategic review of business rates here in the latter half of 2019. That process concluded just in advance of the return of the Executive in early 2020. One of the first decisions taken in the 2020/21 Budget was to implement an 18% cut in the non-domestic regional rate. This delivered on the predominant finding during the review, namely that the poundage multiplier here was too high.

Since the Executive’s return, the rating system has been forced to pivot in response to the ongoing pandemic. The system has been recalibrated to provide support to those business sectors most affected by the pandemic, with the measures informed by evidence from the Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre. This has resulted in the two year rates holiday provided to approximately 29,000 businesses in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 rating years.

The review undertaken during 2019 employed modern consultation techniques including the use of the Innovation Lab approach to formulate terms of reference and process. A full public consultation between 16 September 2019 and 11 November 2019, and 32 public briefings engaging with Councils, Chambers of Commerce and other business stakeholders. The process was also supplemented by three additional regional Innovation Labs in Newry, Derry and Enniskillen. It would therefore compare well against reviews in other jurisdictions.