It might not have registered with you that all valuations for business rates in the UK are changing this year. Obviously some go up and some go down, but what do they mean in regional terms.
The changes are as shown in this table.
On the face of it, it seems good news for Yorkshire, and it is, but what else can we understand from the numbers.
What it is saying is that because the Conservatives delayed the re-valuation, for the past few years, businesses in Yorkshire have been paying 10% too much in Rates whilst businesses in London are paying 11% too little. It doesn't stop there as the changes, in Yorkshire a reduction, are not going to be implemented straight away, they are to be phased in.
It also means that Local Authorities in Yorkshire are to get the largest part of their income (under the new funding proposals) cut by 10%, this is on top of the cuts already made, whereas the South East will only be cut by 2% and London will get a 11% rise in income.
This shifting of resources to the South started as soon as the Lib/Dems and Conservatives took charge of the finances and is being accelerated now the Conservatives control the purse strings. Local Conservatives continue in denial and refuse to condemn the blatant attack on our services.
