Charity concerned by business rate hike plans

A charity says it has experienced its "hardest year" as a council looks to reduce the amount of financial support it gives the sector.

Andrea McCombie, Chief Executive of the Ark Trust in Bracknell, said changes to national insurance and the minimum wage had also made things "really difficult".

Bracknell Forest Council currently provides a 20 per cent business rate relief on properties occupied by charities, on top of the mandatory 80 per cent relief provided by the government.

But the authority may change that as most other authorities apply a varied amount depending on the charity, with an average rate of relief at around 2.5 per cent.

Providing the full 20 per cent relief for charities costs the taxpayer about £155,000 per year, according to Bracknell Forest Council.

Cabinet member for finance and corporate improvement Kathryn Neil said the relief is "much more generous' than that of other authorities, and it must look to make changes as its budget is becoming 'more and more squeezed".

Andrea McCombie, Chief Executive of the Ark Trust, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It's been the hardest year I have ever experienced in terms of funding.

"There should be a distinction between the type of charity.

"Smaller charities that are providing really valuable services and resources to Bracknell should still get the relief."

Mrs McCombie said changes to national insurance contributions and minimum wage announced in October's Budget, alongside the potential relief changes to local support have made things "really difficult" for the charity.

Elaine Chambers-Brown, director of the homeless charity Pilgrims Hearts, agreed that the sector is "going through a hard time".

"We have quite a lot of businesses that have given us donations, but obviously with the financial crisis that happened last year, the private donations went down as well," she added.

But councillor Neil explained: "The scheme that we have is incredibly generous and also is perhaps offered to some charities that are more than financially solvent.

"The point of the scheme is to make it fairer, to make it more affordable, we're not looking to have a detrimental impact on charities but the scheme has to be fair."

If changes are implemented, a minimum 12-month notice would be given to recipients.

A consultation on the scheme is open until January 22.

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