The government has announced that there will be 100% relief awarded for nurseries providing childcare. Further details on this will be available when the qualifying conditions have been confirmed.

What is Nursery Discount?

In March 2020 the Government announced it would provide Nursery Relief for nurseries which have been directly impacted by COVID-19.

Eligible nurseries which provide childcare and which are occupying premises in 2020/ 2021, will receive a relief to cover 100 per cent of their business rates bill. This means for the 2020/ 2021 financial year, qualifying businesses will not have to pay any business rates.

Who is eligible?

Properties that will be eligible for the discount must be:

• occupied by providers on Ofsted’s Early Years Register
• wholly or mainly used for the provision of the Early Years Foundation Stage

Do I need to do anything?

The relief will be paid automatically by Birmingham City Council, so businesses do not need to apply.

What happens to my annual bill?

As the Government only made the announcement in March, most of the annual business rates bills for 2020/ 2021 had already been issued. Once we have applied the Nursery Discount, we will issue a new bill to reflect the discount.

If you pay by direct debit and a payment for April has already been taken, this will be refunded within 28 days.

Change of circumstances

If your business circumstances have changed since March, such as you have relocated or closed, please notify Birmingham City Council as soon as possible via email to business_rates@birmingham.gov.uk or by calling 0121 303 5509.