Centre for Cities welcomes the Terms of Reference for the LGRR
Date: 17/03/2011Andrew Carter, Director of Policy and Research for the Centre for Cities said of the Terms of Reference for the LGRR announced today;
"We welcome the fact that the Terms of Reference for the Local Government Resources Review are sufficiently broad to give a good insight into how the business rates system can be improved for the benefit of local economies. Incentives for encouraging growth will be important in ensuring that cities financially benefit from supporting economic growth. The Review needs to think clearly about the equity versus incentives aspect of local government finance reform but should avoid confusing the two. Some cities are better placed than others to benefit from economic growth. Dealing with this issue will be really crucial to the success of the Review. Currently, UK cities raise just 17% of the money they spend from local taxation. The Review needs to go as far as possible to give cities stronger incentives to pursue growth and greater freedoms raise and invest money locally.
Centre for Cities, with the support of SNR Denton and CB Richard Ellis, will be publishing research on financial incentives throughout the course of this year.”
Notes to editors
For more information, please contact:
Rachel Tooby, External Affairs Manager
r.tooby@centreforcities.org / 020 7803 4316
