The Council is asked to formally set the Council Tax for 2016/17.

(A report will be circulated at the meeting).

(NB: Please remember that, in line with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, decisions on the budget MUST be a recorded vote).

71.1           Having agreed the Council’s 2016/17 budget earlier in the meeting, attention was drawn to a report, circulated around the table, which asked Members to approve and set a Council Tax requirement for 2016/17.  

71.2           In proposing the recommended Council Tax level, a Member advised that the recommendation would see the Council Tax for a Band D property rising by £5 per year. For Tewkesbury Borough this would make the Band D Council Tax £104.36 for 2016/17 which compared to £1,134.01 for Gloucestershire County Council; £210.31 for the Police and Crime Commissioner; and an average of £53.51 for Parish and Town Councils. This was the first time in five years that a Council Tax increase was proposed by the Borough Council and, whilst it was unfortunate, it seemed to be the only way that the Council could continue to provide its services against a backdrop of reductions in central government funding. The Member indicated that he wished to publically offer his thanks to the Finance and Asset Management Group Manager and his Team for their hard work.

71.3           In accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, voting was recorded as follows:

71.4              Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED         1.   That it be NOTED that on 18 February 2016 the Council                                         calculated:

a)  the Council Tax base 2016/17 for the whole Council area as £31,814.95 (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 relates as attached in Appendix C to the report.

                                                2.   That the Council Tax requirement calculated for the                                                             Council’s own purposes for 2016/17 (excluding Parish                                                         Precepts) is £3,320,196.

                                                3.   That the following amounts be calculated for the year                                                          2016/17 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Act:

                                                       a) £35,704,269 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.

                                                       b) £30,681,570 being the aggregate of the amounts                                                                  which the Council estimates for the items set out in                                                              Section 31A(3) of the Act.

                                                       c) £5,022,699 being the amount by which the                                                                           aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at                                                               3(b) above, calculated by the Council in                                                                           accordance with Section 31(A)(4) of the Act as its                                                                    Council Tax requirement for the year (Item R in the                                                             formula in Section 31B of the Act).

                                                      d)  £157.87 being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R),                                                                all divided by Item T (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)  £1,702,503 being the aggregate amount of all                                                                       special items (Parish Precepts) referred to in                                                                        Section 34(1) of the Act (as per Appendix C to the                                                                 report).

                                                      f)   £104.36 being the amount at 3(d) above less the                                                                  result given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by                                                 Item T (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 stated in column 5 (Band D                                                                               Parish/Town and Borough b) of Appendix B to the                                                                report are given by adding to the amount at 3(f)                                                                        above the amounts of special items relating to                                                                      dwellings in those parts of the Council’s area                                                             specified in column 1 of Appendix B in accordance                                                              with Section 34(3) of the Act. For completeness the                                                                        table shows all areas.

                                                      h)  The amount set out in Appendix B to the report                                                                     given by multiplying the amounts at 3(g) above by                                                                the number which, in proportion set out in Section                                                                       5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a                                                                particular valuation Band divided by the number                                                                   which in that proportion is applicable to 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.

4.    That it be NOTED that, for the year 2016/17, Gloucestershire County Council and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire have stated the following amounts in Precepts issued to the Borough Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

5.    That, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 3(h) and 4 above, the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the amounts, set out in in Schedule 3 to the report, as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2016/17 for each of the categories of dwellings shown in Schedule 3.

6.    The Council has determined that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2016/17 is not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. As the billing authority, the Council has not been notified by a major precepting authority that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2016/17 is excessive and that the billing authority is not required to hold a referendum in accordance with Section 52ZK of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.