Charity and Not-for-Profit Discretionary Rate Relief Application Form (2023-2026)

Applicant information

I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the following statements are correct and hereby make a formal application for Discretionary Rate Relief. I confirm I am authorised to do so on behalf of my organisation.

Name of organisation
Name of person completing this form
Position in organisation
Correspondence address
Contact Number(s)
Email
Website
Date application submitted
Charity Commission registration number (if applicable)
Companies House registration number (if applicable)
Are you currently in receipt of Discretionary Rate Relief?	Yes ☐ No ☐
Are you currently in receipt of Mandatory Rate Relief? If you are unsure of eligibility for this please refer to: Islington Mandatory Rate Relief	Yes ☐ No ☐

Details of the premises for which relief is being requested

Premises 1:

Address of premises
Rate Account Number
What is the main purpose that these premises are used for?
Do you have exclusive use of the entire premises?	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
If answered ‘No’, please advise if there are self-contained units within the premises which other organisations have exclusive access to, and provide details of these organisations: (Please note that this information may require a valuation be carried out at the premises to establish business rates for all organisations)

Premises 2:

Address of premises
Rate Account Number
What is the main purpose that these premises are used for?
Do you have exclusive use of the entire premises?	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
If answered ‘No’, please advise if there are self-contained units within the premises which other organisations have exclusive access to, and provide details of these organisations: (Please note that this information may require a valuation be carried out at the premises to establish business rates for all organisations)

If your organisation operates from more than 2 premises, please continue on a separate sheet.

Pre-qualifying information

Please confirm that you meet all of the essential criteria outlined in our Charity and Not-for-Profit Discretionary Rate Relief Policy.

Part 1:

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you will not meet our essential criteria and your application will not be considered.

Is your organisation or the premise(s) for which you are applying any of the following? Profit making organisation Administration offices for national charities Overseas aid organisation Charity shops and cafes operated by national charities or associated organisation Housing Association Private school, college, nursery or school that are not within the Islington family of school Building(s) used for worship or promotion of religious belief Organisation operating a restrictive membership policy for which a fee is payable Empty property or properties Car parking space or spaces	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
Are you subject to investigation by a regulator (e.g. the Charity Commission, Ofsted or Care Quality Commission)?	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​

Part 2:

If you answer no to any of these questions, then you will not meet our essential criteria and your application will not be considered.

Are 75% or more of your primary beneficiaries Islington residents?	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
Are the premises for which you are applying in Islington?	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
Are you directly liable for the rates on the property?	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
Are you a not-for-profit organisation (meeting the criteria detailed in this policy)?	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
What is your legal structure?	Unincorporated Association (e.g. community group)	​​☐​
Charitable Trust	​​☐​
Charitable Incorporated .	​​☐​
Community Interest Company	​​☐​
Community Benefit Society	​​☐​
Cooperative Society	​​☐​
Charitable Company	​​☐​
Other - please state:
Do you have an equal opportunities policy that adheres to the Equality Act 2010?	Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
Do you pay all of your employees or contracted staff the London Living Wage as a minimum, and review this annually?	Not applicable ​☐​ Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​
Have you filed up-to-date accounts with the appropriate national authority, where applicable?	Not applicable ​☐​ Yes ​☐​ No ​☐​

Assessment criteria

The answers to the questions in this application will be marked using a 0-5 scale:

Score	Meaning
0	There is no response to the question.
1	An attempt has been made to respond, but has not met minimum requirements or experience and has not covered any essential points
2	The response or experience has partially met minimum requirements and has covered some essential points.
3	The response or experience has met minimum requirements and has covered all essential points, possibly including clear examples.
4	The response or experience has exceeded minimum requirements, covering more than the essential points and given clear examples.
5	The response or experience has added significant value. Examples are given which clearly illustrate this. It has covered more than the essential points, given clear thorough examples that show where value has been added.

To be awarded a Charity or Not-for-Profit Discretionary Rate Relief, you must score a minimum of three (3) points for each question in this section.

Do not exceed the word limit for each question. Any words above the specified limit will be disregarded in our evaluation of your answer.

Please include a word count after your response.

Please do not provide additional appendices or supporting documents in response to the questions.

Council priorities
Please provide details of your charitable objectives or the aims of your organisation as detailed in your articles of association or constitution (Maximum 500 words)
Please tell us how your organisational purpose aligns with any or all of the council’s corporate priorities: Homes - Delivering decent and genuinely affordable homes for all. Jobs and businesses - We invest in local jobs and businesses to ensure a thriving local economy. Children and Young People - Making Islington the best place for all young people to grow up. Place and environment – We work together to create a cleaner, greener, healthier borough. Connected & Inclusive communities - We stand with our communities, so they are safe, connected, and inclusive. (Maximum 500 words)
Please provide an overview of your organisation’s services or activities. (Maximum 500 words)

A Fairer Islington
Please tell us how your work makes Islington fairer by serving the needs of sections of the community experiencing social or economic exclusion, in particular groups protected under the Equality Act 2010. (Maximum 500 words)

Net zero carbon emissions from the borough by 2030
Please tell us what your organisation is doing to contribute towards Islington’s ambition to have net zero carbon emissions from the borough by 2030? (Maximum 500 words)

Supporting documents

The following documents may be requested to support your application. Please confirm that your organisation has produced these and provide the date they were last updated.

Governance documents:	Date last updated:
Copy of Constitution	​​☐​
Key policy documents:
Equal Opportunities policy	​​☐​
Data Protection policy	​​☐​
Safeguarding documents:
Safeguarding policy or policies	​​☐​
Finance and accounting documents:
Annual audited accounts or accounts signed by Chair or Treasurer	​​☐​
If you do not have any of the requested supporting documentation, please detail why here:

DECLARATION

I certify that the information contained in this application is correct, and that should there be any change of circumstances I will notify the council’s Business Rates team on business.rates@islington.gov.uk immediately so that they can consider any change to the business rates and Discretionary Rate Relief award.

Further information can be found here:

Islington council: Business rates | Islington Council

Business Rates - Moving out of the area - About this form - Section 1 - Self (achieveservice.com)

Name: ___________________________ Signature: ____________________________

(or type name if electronic signature is not available)

Position in organisation: _________________________ Date: ______________

Please email your completed form to partnerships@islington.gov.uk

Data Protection Statement

Any information you give us will be used for the purposes of administering your business rates.

All data is held securely and processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The council has a duty to protect public funds it administers and may use information held about you for the prevention and detection of fraud and other lawful purposes. This may include matching business rates data with other council records. The council will also use the information for the purpose of performing any of its statutory enforcement duties. It will make any disclosures required by law and may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing and administering public funds.

We will not disclose your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. The council also uses basic business rates information about you (e.g. name and address) in other areas of service provision if this helps you to access services more easily, promotes more efficient and cost effective delivery of services, and to help recover monies owed to the council. For further details and our policy please refer to our data protection page.