Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S. Baxter, J. Elledge, P. McDonald and J. Stanley.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

The Chairman explained that at a meeting held in July 2025 the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee granted a dispensation to all Councillors that they be permitted to speak and vote on Council Tax matters.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

To consider the recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 6^th March 2026.

As the meeting of Cabinet takes place immediately prior to this Council meeting, any recommendations will be tabled for Members’ consideration.

Council Tax Resolutions 2026 – 2027

The Cabinet Member for Finance presented the Council Tax Resolutions report for Council’s consideration.

In doing so Members were provided with an overview of the requirements, context, and key figures relating to the Council Tax Resolution for the 2026/27 financial year, including the council tax base, precept impacts, and known external factors influencing the overall bill.

The formal calculation of the Council Tax Base for 2026/27, which must be approved annually in accordance with statutory regulations was outlined as follows:

• The calculated tax base for the whole District for 2026/27 was 38,409.8 Band D equivalent properties.
• The figure was based on data as of 30^th November 2025, and adjusted for dwelling changes, discounts, exemptions, and a 1 per cent non-collection allowance.
• This tax base formed the foundation for setting the District Council’s own Council Tax requirement.

Members were reminded that for the financial year 2025-2026, the District Council’s Band D properties charge was £257.48. The District Council element for financial year 2026-2027 charge for Band D properties was set at £265.18. This was an increase of 2.99 per cent.

This below inflation increase and taking into account the Medium-Term Financial Plan 2026-27 including Treasury Management Strategy, Capital Strategy and Investment Strategy which was agreed by Members on 25^th February 2026 would provide service resilience for the Council.

It was noted that there was a typographical error within Appendix 3 – Parish Precepts to the report. However, an updated table had been provided for Members’ consideration at this meeting. The Cabinet Member for Finance reported that this was a very useful document in order to compare the precept amounts across each Parish Council.

Parish Councils set their precepts separately and it was noted there was an average 8.77 per cent increase across Parish Council for the financial year 2026-2027 and the total Parish Council precepts which amounted to £1.496million. The individual property Band amounts could be found in Appendix 3 as detailed above.

The overall Council Tax bill included several external precepts as follows:

·       West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner - The precept for 2026-2027 was set to rise by 5.15 per cent, an increase for Band D properties to £306.50.

·       Worcestershire County Council - The County Council’s 2026-2027 budget included an 8.98 per cent increase, taking the charge to £1,760.80 for Band D properties.

·       Hereford & Worcester Fire & Rescue Service - The 2026-2027 figure was set to rise by 4.89 per cent, an increase for Band D properties to £107.22

The Council remained committed to financial stability, recognising the tax base calculation was a core part of the Medium-Term Financial Plan 2026-27 including Treasury Management Strategy, Capital Strategy and Investment Strategy. Members were informed that Council Tax bills would be issued to residents accordingly.

Following the presentation of the report there were several questions from members. These were as follows:

·       If any budgetary cuts in a specific service had occurred area as a result of the Budget setting process would grant funding received from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3\25

There was no Urgent Business on this occasion.