1) 100% Business Rate Retention – CCN, RSN and DCN Shared Principles Statement

The County Councils Network (CCN), District Councils' Network (DCN) and Rural Services Network (RSN) have jointly welcomed the Government's intention to move to 100% retention of business rates by 2020. Clearly this is ambitious, complex, and challenging, but our networks can support this if it enables further devolution, ensures key services are sustainable over time, and allows localism to flourish.
We support this ambition on the basis that it will enable further local autonomy and self-reliance, as well as encouraging and rewarding future growth.
Clearly, the new system will be highly complex to design, but it must be made as simple and as fair as possible, and needs led from day one to ensure that local authorities are incentivised and rewarded for achieving growth........

To read the statement in full click here

2) Self Sufficient Local Government: 100% Business Rate Retention

"This consultation seeks views on the government's commitment to allow local government to retain 100% of the business rates that they raise locally. Specifically this consultation seeks to identify some of the issues that should be kept in mind when designing the reforms."
The deadline for responses to this consultation is Monday 26th September 2016 and we would urge all local authorities to consider the contents of the consultation paper and ensure that they respond.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/self-sufficient-local-government-100-business-rates-retention

3) Fair Funding Review: Call for evidence on Needs and Redistribution

"The government has announced it will undertake a fair funding review of what the needs assessment formula should be following the implementation of 100% business rates retention. As a first step, alongside this consultation, the government has issued a call for evidence which sets out the key questions that will need to be addressed as part of this review."
This call for evidence includes key questions on the types of formula that should be considered and also the damping process. The deadline for responses is 26 September 2016.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/self-sufficient-local-government-100-business-rates-retention