Agenda item

This report will be published in a supplementary papers pack to this agenda.

 

This report is due to be pre-scrutinised at a meeting of the Finance and Budget Working Group scheduled to take place on 18^th February 2025 prior to its consideration at this Cabinet meeting. Any recommendations arising from that meeting will be reported for Cabinet’s consideration in a supplementary papers pack.

 

 

The Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 officer presented the Council Tax Resolutions 2025 – 2026 for the consideration of Cabinet. It was explained that the report authorised the collection of Council Tax from Bromsgrove residents at the correct amount. Prior to the consideration of the report, it was noted that updated version of Schedules One and Two contained within the report had been re-issued for Members consideration. This was due to a rounding error which had been identified in the previous version.

 

It was stated that Council Tax included elements from the following:

 

• Worcestershire County Council
• Bromsgrove District Council
• Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia
• Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority
• Precepts from nineteen Parish Councils

 

Members were informed that Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority had met earlier on that day to agree their precept for 2025 – 2026 and it was confirmed that this had been agreed as detailed within the report.

 

Therefore, it was stated that the precepts for 2025 2026 were as follows:

 

	£
Worcestershire County Council	61,978,474.00
Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia	11,181,910.85
Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority	3,921,149.04
Bromsgrove District Council	9,876,907.05
Parish Precepts	1,373,801.44
Total	88,332,242.38

 

It was highlighted that all precepting authorities had increased their charges by the maximum amount for the year 2025 – 2026 as follows:

 

• Worcestershire County Council – an increase of 4.99 per cent
• Bromsgrove District Council – an increase of 2.99 per cent
• Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia – an increase of 5.05 per cent
• Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority – an increase of 5.14 per cent
• Parish Councils - an average increase of 11.18 per cent.

 

It was noted that the Parish Council precepts were determined at a local level and were dependent on the services provided and numbers of residents within that Parish. Members noted that Parish Councils were subject to scrutiny of their accounts and annual Statement of Accounts were published on the website or independently audited depending on income and turnover.

 

The total amount generated from the collection of Council Tax was £11,250,708.49 which was the combined total of Bromsgrove District Council’s amount of precept of £9,876,907.05 and parish precepts of £1,373,801.44.

 

Members attention was drawn to the following areas contained within the report:

 

1)    For the year 2025 - 2026, Worcestershire County Council, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia, and Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority had issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act for each category of dwelling in the Council’s area as indicated below:

 

 

2)    That the Director of Resources was authorised to make payments under section 90(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 from the collection fund by ten equal instalments between April 2025 to March 2026 as detailed below:

 

 

3)    That the Director of Resources was authorised to make transfers under section 97 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 from the collection fund to the general fund the sum of £11,250,708.49 being the Council’s own demand on the collection fund (£9,876,907.05) and parish precepts (£1,373,801.44) and the distribution of the surplus/deficit on the collection fund (£76,521.40).

 

4)    That the Director of Resources was authorised to make payments from the general fund to parish councils the sums listed on Schedule 3 by two equal instalments on 1^st April 2025 and 1^st October 2025 in respect of the precept levied on the Council.

 

5)    That the above resolutions to be signed by the Chief Executive for use in legal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court for the recovery of unpaid council taxes.

 

Members were informed that due to the legislation connected to this report, it would be necessary for the Cabinet Member for Finance to read out all recommendations contained within the report at the Council meeting due to be held later that day.

 

On being put to the vote it was

 

RESOLVEDthat

 

at its meeting on 25th January 2025 Cabinet approved the calculated Council Tax base 2025/26 as:

 

(a)      for the whole council area as 38,359.9 [item T in the formula in section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”)]; and

(b)      for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a parish precept relate the amount as shown in column 5 of the attached schedule 1.

 

RECOMMENDEDthat

 

1.2.1   The calculation for the council tax requirement for the council’s own purposes for 2025/26 (excluding parish precepts) as £9,876,907.05

 

1.2.2   That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2025/26 in accordance with sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

 

a)    £48,010,187.83 being the aggregate of the amounts which the council estimates for the items set out in section 31A(2) of the Act (taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils) (i.e., gross expenditure)

b)    £36,759,479.34 being the aggregate of the amounts which the council estimates for the items set out in section 31A(3) of the Act. (i,e gross income).

c)     £11,250,708.49 being the amount by which the aggregate of 1.2.2(a) above exceeds the aggregate of 1.2.2(b) above, calculated by the council, in accordance with section 31A(4) of the Act, as its council tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in section 31B of the Act).

d)    £293.29 being the amount at 1.2.2(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (1.1(a) above), calculated by the council, in accordance with section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year (including parish precepts).

e)    £1,373,801.44 being the aggregate amount of all special items (parish precepts) referred to in section 34(1) of the Act (as per the attached schedule 3)

f)      £257.48 being the amount at 1.2.2(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 1.2.2(e) above by Item T (1.1 (a) above), calculated by the council, in accordance with section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no parish precept relates.

g)    The amounts shown in column 4 of schedule 1.  These are the basic amount of council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of the council’s area shown in column 1 of the schedule respectively to which special items relate, calculated by the council in accordance with section 34(3) of the Act. (District and parish combined at band D).

h)    The amounts shown in columns 7 to 14 of schedule 1 being the amount given by multiplying the amount at 1.2.2(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number of dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the council, in accordance with section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

 

1.2.3   It is to be noted that for the year 2025/26, Worcestershire County Council, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia, and Hereford and Worcester Fire Authority have issued precepts to the council in accordance with section 40 of the Act for each category of dwelling in the council’s area as indicated below:

 

 

1.2.4   That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 1.2.2(h) and 1.2.3 above, that Bromsgrove District Council in accordance with sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 hereby sets the amounts shown in schedule 2 as the amounts of council tax for 2025/26 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

 

1.2.5   The Director of Resources by authorised to make payments under section 90(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 from the collection fund by ten equal instalments between April 2025 to March 2026 as detailed below

 

 

1.2.6 The Director of Resources is authorised to make transfers under section 97 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 from the collection fund to the general fund the sum of £11,250,708.49 being the council’s own demand on the collection fund (£9,876,907.05) and parish precepts (£1,373,801.44) and the distribution of the surplus/deficit on the collection fund (£76,521.40).

 

1.2.7   That the Director of Resources is authorised to make payments from the general fund to parish councils the sums listed on Schedule 3 by two equal instalments on 1^st April 2025 and 1^st October 2025 in respect of the precept levied on the council.

 

1.2.8   That the above resolutions to be signed by the Chief Executive for use in legal proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court for the recovery of unpaid council taxes.

 

1.2.9   Notices of the making of the said council taxes signed by the Chief Executive are given by advertisement in the local press under section 38(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.