20 July 2020The second reading of the Non-Domestic (Public Lavatories) Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 16th July.
The Bill seeks to provide 100% business rates relief for standalone public toilets in England and Wales. As the law stands now all public lavatories are liable to pay non-domestic business rates unless they have been exempted or given statutory relief from liability. Local authorities are currently not allowed to grant discretionary relief to any public toilets owned by themselves or any authority which can raise a precept as laid down in Section 47 (9) Local Government Finance Act (1988).
SLCC members, along with colleagues at National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and the Local Government Association (LGA) have been lobbying government for change, particularly in the wake of the financial implications of Covid-19 and we will provide further updates once the Bill returns to the House of Commons on 3rd September.
