Shropshire council tax set to rise 5.99 per cent
Council tax in Shropshire is set to rise by almost six per cent from April – almost double inflation.
The 5.99 per cent increase, up from the rise of 3.99 per cent last year, is being considered to help the authority tackle its multi-million pound finance problems.
The rise outstrips the retail price index measure of inflation, which is currently 3.1 per cent. It would represent £75.45 a year more for Band D properties, and £58.68 for Band B homes.
Shropshire Council leader Councillor Peter Nutting said: “We do not want to put council tax up at all, but the reality of life is we have huge pressure on adult social care and children’s social services and it costs real money to sort the problems out.
“We need the money so we can provide a decent social services system for some of the most vulnerable people in Shropshire.”
Councillor Nutting said the ambition is for the tax rise for the following year, 2019/20, to come down to 3.99 per cent.
The authority would only be able to increase council tax to 5.99 per cent because of changes to government policy.
See also:
The increase would be made up of 2.99 per cent for the council, as permitted by government, added together with three per cent, to pay solely for the costs of providing adult social care.
The government has increased the amount councils are allowed to raise for their own services without calling a referendum from 1.99 per cent to 2.99 per cent. Councils are also permitted to combine that increase with a six per cent increase split over three years for adult social care.
Councillor Nutting said the change would mean adding a three per cent adult social care increase for 2018/19, with a one per cent increase added the following year.
He said: “In our circumstances I think we will probably go for that because we need the money sooner rather than later.”
James Walton, the council’s head of finance, governance and assurance, said: “The ability to increase the core council tax by an additional one per cent, in line with inflation, without holding a local referendum was granted by central government just before the Christmas break. This means the potential for a core increase of 2.99 per cent in council tax. In Shropshire, a core council tax increase of one per cent would raise an additional £1.366m compared to our planning assumptions (previously 1.99 per cent).
“We are also proposing an increase of 3 per cent social care precept which enables a maximum increase of 5.99 per cent in 2018/19. In total, these adjustments add £2.732m to resources in 2018/19.
“For the average band D property this equates to £75.45 per year more (£1.45 per week), however in Shropshire most houses are below band D. We have more houses in band B than any other band, which will see an increase of £58.68 per year (just under £1.13 per week).”
