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Dodds draws up £8m council aid £8m aid to curb rates hike fears
(about 1 hour later)
A support package worth up to £8m will be available to councils struggling with falling revenues, the Finance Minister Nigel Dodds has announced. A support package of up to £8m will be available to councils struggling to keep rates down, the Finance Minister Nigel Dodds has announced.
Mr Dodds said councils could repay the Ministry of Defence and BT rates over five years instead of one lump sum. It follows concerns that some councils were preparing to raise their rates by as much as 10%.
It was found the two organisations had overpaid rates for a number of years. More than £4m will be available for councils to divide, following a change in the way their income is calculated.
Mr Dodds will also change the way net revenues are calculated, and ensure some costs associated with new IT systems are not passed on to councils. Mr Dodds said he was responding to concerns raised by the local government association.
"This package is a proportionate, necessary and affordable response to the difficulties faced by councils next year," said Mr Dodds. The package will also assist all 26 councils, hit by the sharp rise in the cost of collecting rates by Land and Property Services.
"It is not a bail out but is a response to the fact that councils faced a number of exceptional one off items next year that would have hit them just at the same time as they seek to manage the wider impacts of the economic downturn." The minister has ensured that extra costs, totalling £600,000, are not passed onto councils.
There is also help for those hit by rates rebates which have been granted to the Ministry of Defence and British Telecom.
The rebates date back five years and total about £3m. Councils will have five years instead of one year to repay the funds to central government.
Mr Dodds said the package was "a proportionate, necessary and affordable response" to councils' difficulties.
Councils across Northern Ireland have until 14 February to strike the new district rate in preparation for April bills.Councils across Northern Ireland have until 14 February to strike the new district rate in preparation for April bills.