The Northern Ireland (Regional Rates and Energy) (No. 2) Bill 2017-19 was introduced to the House of Commons on 28 February 2019. The text of the Bill and Explanatory Notes are provided on the Bill pages on the Parliamentary website.
The Bill would provide authority for the UK Government to take three actions arising from the ongoing absence of a fully-functioning Northern Ireland Executive:
1. setting the level of regional domestic and non-domestic rates for the financial year ending 31 March 2020;
2. implementing a long-term tariff structure for the Northern Ireland Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme; and
3. introducing voluntary “buy-out” arrangements under which participants can apply to receive a one-off payment enabling them to withdraw from the Scheme.