ABSTRACT
Exemptions are contained in Schedule 5 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988, as amended. In the majority of instances the exemptions have been carried over from the pre-1990 rating act, the General Rate Act 1967. The exemption of agricultural land dates from 1896 and has been successively modified since then to take account of developments in agricultural practice. Agricultural buildings, as well as agricultural land, are exempt. Exemption is also available to buildings used for the keeping or breeding of livestock. The exemption extends to any part of a park that is ancillary to the use by the public of the rest of the park. Brockwell Park itself included a refreshment room. Whilst some reliefs are set out by statute, other reliefs, often of a temporary nature, are not. The Government has increasingly encouraged billing authorities to use the discretionary powers under section 47(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to give relief in certain circumstances.
