Commentary on Sections Schedule 1: Local retention of non-domestic rates Part 3: Payments to the Secretary of State in respect of the central share
72.Following House of Commons approval of a local government finance report, paragraph 6 places a duty on billing authorities to make payment of the central share to the Secretary of State (which will be the percentage of the billing authority’s non-domestic rating income set out in the local government finance report). The Secretary of State must define “non-domestic rating income” for these purposes in regulations. Paragraph 7 provides for the Secretary of State to make regulations about the administrative arrangements for making such payments, including the time and manner of payments and any necessary payments subsequently to reconcile payments made during the course of the year. Paragraph 8 gives the Secretary of State power by regulations to make provision for deductions from a billing authority’s central share payment, in particular by reference to discretionary relief granted by that authority in accordance with section 47 of the LGFA 1988. This will allow the Secretary of State to give effect to the Government’s commitment to fund certain discretionary rate relief in enterprise zones.