Why does Council Tax have to go up?
Council services are mainly funded through Council Tax and business rates.
Whilst working more efficiently and changing some services reduces costs, this is not enough to ensure the council can continue to meet the increasing demand for adult social care and children’s services.
The council is acutely aware of the other increasing costs of living that residents will be paying and the decision to increase Council Tax is not something that is taken lightly or without careful consideration. Unfortunately, it is not possible to continue to protect or improve vital services without asking residents to help to pay for them through Council Tax increases.
The budget includes an overall increase in Council Tax for Central Bedfordshire Council of 5 per cent. This is made up of the following:
- 2 per cent will be for adult social care services only (this is called the Adult Social Care Precept)
- 3 per cent will be used to fund other council services.
The Government sets a limit on how much councils can raise Council Tax by. This is the maximum the council can raise Council Tax by this year, without having to hold a public referendum.
For a Band D property (which is the mid-point value on the range of council tax values), this increase would equate to £83.28 extra a year, or £6.94 a month. So, a Band D household would pay £1,752.30 next year for Central Bedfordshire Council services.
Details of which Council Tax band your property falls within will be included in your annual bill.
Increasing Council Tax by 3 per cent and increasing the Adult Social Care Precept by 2 per cent will generate £9.7million of additional funding for services, alongside other sources of income such as business rates results in a total additional income of £13.3million.
The receipt below shows how your Council Tax is used to fund services (based on a Band D weekly charge).
Your Council Tax bill also includes Council Tax that pays for Police, Fire and your local town or parish council services. These organisations set their own Council Tax increases and if they raise their share of Council Tax, your bill will increase further.