Agenda item

To agree the Council Tax for 2023/24. 

81.1           Having agreed the Council’s 2023/24 budget earlier in the meeting, attention was drawn to a report, circulated separately, which asked Members to approve and set a Council Tax requirement for 2023/24.

81.2           In proposing the Council Tax report, the Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management explained that, as the billing authority, the Council must formally approve the Council Tax for the forthcoming year including the Council Tax levels set by the County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire and our Town and Parish Councils. For 2023/24, the average Band D Council Tax within the Borough would be £2,028.92 per annum which was an increase of £95.17 or 4.92%. This position was a combination of the following increases in Council tax: the Police and Crime Commissioner – 5.36% or £15.00; the County Council – 4.99% or £72.42; the average Town and Parish Council – 4.05% or £2.75; and Tewkesbury Borough Council – 3.72% or £5.00. As a result of the increases, the Borough Council’s share of the overall Council Tax bill fell from 6.94% to 6.86%. The position was summarised in the table at Section 3.1 of the covering report with further detail provided in the appendices. The full Council Tax resolution, as required by the legislation, was contained within Appendix A and he asked the Council to formally approve it. 

81.3           The recommendation was proposed and seconded and, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, voting was recorded as follows:

81.4           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED     1.  That it be NOTED that, on 1 December 2022, the Council                                     calculated:

a)    the Council Tax Base 2023/24 for the whole Council area as£36,781.36 (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 to the report at Appendix C.

2. That the Council Tax requirement calculated for the Council's own purposes for 2023/24 (excluding Parish precepts) is £5,125,850.

3. That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2023/24 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Act:

a. £57,970,592 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. £50,244,300 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act;

c. £7,726,292 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 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. £210.06 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. £2,600,442 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.   £139.36 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; and

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 2023/24, 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 Appendix B to the report, as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2023/2024 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 2023/24 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 2023/24 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.