The 24th National Rating Day
The National Rating Day has become a major fixture in the Rating calendar. It is the largest gathering of rating practitioners year on year; and is a must attend event if you work within the profession. This hybrid event looks at the here and now, policy and reform and best and effective practice. Speakers represent the private sector, the Valuation Office Agency and the Valuation Tribunal Service.
Book your choice of attendance below: either in person at the Congress, or a virtual place.
| Start Date | Venue | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 June 2024 | Congress Centre, London | £300 | BOOK |
| 6 June 2024 | Virtual Conference Attendance | £300 | BOOK |
Note: All prices are to be paid in GBP and are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate
Download and print your full course brochure here
Finally, after several years of business rates being in the headlines and with announcements in the budget and autumn statement, it appeared strangely silent on 6 March 2024. After so much reform from the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act and the NDR Act, are the business rates reforms finally coming to an end?
No they are not. Regulations, implementation and bedding down are the themes of the National Rating Day. But that is not all. Hidden in “the devils in the detail” section of the budget, were plans to introduce General Anti-avoidance Rules (GAAR) into the rating world in England. The 4 policy leads from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England will participate in a talking heads about what it is, what is its intention and what of its implications on business rating in the UK.
If you offer rating advice to clients, this is the must attend event of the year.
You can attend in person or join virtually.
Speakers Confirmed To Date
- Richard Williamson MRICS BSc (Hons) IRRV (Hons), National Head of Rating, GL Hearn Limited; Vice President, The Rating Surveyors' Association
- Richard Harbord, Managing Partner, Harbord & Co Solicitors
- Speaker from Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC),
- Anouk Berthier, Head of Non-Domestic Rates Policy, Scottish Government
- Andrew McAvoy, Director of Rating Policy, Land & Property Services NI
- Don A’Bear, Knowldege and Analytical Services, Welsh Government
- Myles O'Brien, Business Rates Director, GL Hearn
- Dan Walsh, Team Lead - Agent Standards and Compliance Team, Valuation Office Agency
- Josh Myerson FRICS Dip.Rating IRRV (Hons), Partner and Head of Rating, Montagu Evans LLP; Previous Past President, The Rating Surveyors' Association
- Dawn Bunyan BA (Hons) MRICS, Valuation Office Agency
- Simon Griffin BSc (Hons) MRICS, Rating Director, Jones Lang LaSalle; President, The Rating Surveyors' Association
- Andrew Hetherton MRICS IRRV (Hons) Cert Ed, Director, Andrew Hetherton Consulting Ltd, Past President and a IRRV Council Member & Immediate Past Chairman of Accessible Retail
- Alan Colston BSc (Hons) MRICS Dip.Rating, Chief Valuer, Valuation Office Agency
- Dan Kolinsky KC, Barrister, Landmark Chambers
Programme
Welcome & Introduction from the Conference Chair - Richard Williamson
Rating Policy
Rating Receipts Fund Local Government: With Authorities Seemingly Queuing up for Bankruptcy, The System is Clearly Not Working.
- Why is local government failing? The pathology of the disease
- Possible solutions?
- What impact might there be on the rating system?
Commercial Rating Policy Update
- Rating practitioners will be familiar with the terms avoidance and evasion, but what about General Anti-avoidance Rules (GAAR) being applied to the rating world?
- Scotland has them, Wales is legislating for them, and England, whilst having been passive on their use, will be going out to consultation on using them.
- GAARs are used to deny tax benefit of transactions or arrangements which do not have any commercial substance and the only purpose of such a transaction is achieving the tax benefit.
- To quote the Explanatory Memorandum in the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill “This provision will enable advantages gained from artificial avoidance arrangements to be counteracted, subject to a power for the Welsh Ministers to define in regulations the specific avoidance arrangements covered by the provisions. Penalties may also be imposed on liable persons who fail to pay an amount due in consequence of having made an artificial avoidance arrangement. The provisions will help the Welsh Government to address nondomestic rates avoidance, including behaviours that are not currently used or known about, but may emerge or be identified in future.”
- Policy leaders will discuss what it is, its intentions and the implications on business rating in the UK?
Current Rating Practice
Agents Standards/Compliance/Good Practice for CCA
- IRRV/RSA and RICS have endorsed it
- But what does it mean in practice?
- Behaviours sought to be eliminated?
How the Rating System can be Improved - An Agent Perspective
Changes to the Rating System from the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 – Those in Place, and Those to Come
Improvement Relief from 1 April 2024
- What is the relief?
- How does it operate?
- How do you apply for relief?
- What happens if you are not happy with the outcome?
Reliefs for Green Energy
- What reliefs are available?
- How were they applied in 2023/24?
- How will they be applied from 1 April 2024
Other changes arising out of the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 including changes to:
- Multipliers
- Small Business Rate Relief
- Transitional Relief
- Completion Notices
Material Changes of Circumstance
- What are the changes and how do they affect valuation?
What is still to come?
- Duty to notify
- Annual confirmation
- Penalties and Compliance regime
- If this is to work, IT will be central to this.
A Talking Heads Discussion: Is There a Place for Appeals in a 3 Year Revaluation Cycle?
- As the VOA new computer infrastructure develops, as the duty to notify kicks in and as the Rating List matures, will appeals be consigned to history?
- What is the future of CCA?
- What will the future rating system look like?
- What are the tactics and processes?
- Who are the interested parties?
- What happens to the Tone of the List?
- Where might tensions emerge between ratepayer advisors and the VOA?
Next Steps in Reform
Case Law Update
- Dan Kolinsky KC provides his annual review of significant caselaw and topical legal developments affecting the rating world