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RYA highlights weakness in Government club rate relief plans
Author: Royal Yachting Association
The RYA (Royal Yachting Association) welcomes the publication this week of the Central Council of Physical Recreation’s (CCPR) research paper on Rate Relief for Clubs, ‘Hit and Miss’.
The Government’s ‘Plan for Sport’ launched earlier this year highlights the crucial role that members’ sports clubs play in making sport more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. This is a central theme of current Government policy.
Clubs run by volunteers can only be effective when there is sufficient financial support to sustain their viability. At present the taxation system through the local business rate is a serious hindrance to their development.
The CCPR’s ‘Hit and Miss’ shows that Government proposals to help clubs are half-hearted and even likely to have an adverse effect on clubs. The Government Green Paper ‘Modernising Local Government Finance’ suggests that sports clubs should receive some mandatory relief from local councils. Regrettably the criteria set by Government will only benefit the small clubs with a rateable value of Ј8000 or less; medium and larger clubs could be made worse off by losing the discretionary relief some already enjoy from local authorities.
The RYA supports the CCPR research, and calls on the DETR to reconsider its plans before publishing the White Paper expected later this year.
Edmund Whelan, Head of Legal and Government Affairs at the RYA said:
- “The Prime Minister acknowledges that sport is a major contributor to health, education and social inclusion, and a force against crime. The Government says it understands that much of voluntary sport works on shoestring budgets. Offering financial assistance only to the smaller clubs misses the point that all clubs can serve the community, and the bigger clubs are just as deserving of assistance as the smaller ones. Now is the chance for the Government to put its supportive words into real action and give all clubs relief from business rates.”
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