Council Tax Your Guide for 2019-20 - Reading Borough Council
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Council Tax Your Guide for 2019-20
Cllr Jo Lovelock
Reading Borough Council
Civic Offices
Bridge Street
READING
RG1 2LU
Leader of the Council
My Ref: jl/ka
Date: March 2019
Council Tax Bill 2019/2020
Dear Resident
Over the last year the Council has been working hard to improve its budget position. Reading Borough
Council’s element of this year’s Council Tax rise is just under 3% and is the lowest in Reading for three
years.
Since 2010 the Government will have removed all of the grant it used to provide for local services. Reading
Borough Council used to receive around £58 million every year, but will get nothing in future. The only
other source of income to pay for the services residents rely on is from Council Tax, Business Rates and Fees
and Charges.
Over the years since the Government decided to cut its grant to local councils, we have had to take some
very difficult decisions. They have regrettably resulted in, for example, fewer children’s centres, very few
youth services, libraries opening for fewer days and reductions in funding available for the town’s voluntary
groups. All this has been very painful, but we are legally obliged to set a balanced budget, unlike Central
Governments which can carry a large deficit. In addition, we have continued to find savings by working
more efficiently. We have also found new ways of increasing income.
We are making better use of the buildings we manage. We have opened new community hubs with library
facilities, children’s centres and community spaces in south Reading and Southcote. We are improving the
Town Hall and Museum, including a new Register Office ceremonial room. This means we have closed
Yeomanry House, which was expensive to maintain, and are selling it to raise money to improve other
services and facilities for residents.
We are finding new ways of raising money. Like many councils we are making use of historically low interest
rates so that we can buy offices and rent them out to generate new income. We are also making much
better use of technology. By offering residents more ways to pay online, we can work more efficiently and
save money.
All of this creates new funding streams which help to protect the vital Council services that so many people
rely on. Since April 2017, we have made £25 million of savings. In the next three years we will need to find
another £30 million.
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Our plans are about much more than just saving money though. We are responding to Reading’s needs and
making real improvements in the areas that matter to residents. Our new capital programme will see the
Council provide new housing, new schools, better public transport facilities, safer roads, new playgrounds
and modern new leisure facilities, including new swimming pools. Funding for this comes from developers’
contributions, special grants we have bid for, capital receipts from the sale of property no longer needed
for services and borrowing at low rates of interest. This is money that cannot be used to fund day to day
services.
We know the lack of affordable housing is a major issue. The first residents are already moving in to the
Council’s new housing scheme at Conwy Close in Tilehurst. We are ready to build more affordable housing
schemes in Reading as soon as the Government allows it, which it says it will now do after years of
restrictions.
The Council also has a strong track record of working with partners to deliver real improvements for
residents and businesses. Last year, working with the Heritage Lottery Fund, we opened up Reading’s
historic Royal Abbey. It is already proving popular. By the time you read this, working with Network Rail,
we hope to have removed Reading’s worst traffic bottleneck at Cow Lane by opening it up to two-way
traffic for the first time ever. Work will now continue to create new pedestrian and cycle facilities under
the new bridges.
The Government has said that austerity is coming to an end. Like every local authority, Reading Borough
Council is waiting for the findings of the Government’s Spending Review to find out how it intends to
properly fund councils in the future. It says that funding will be linked to how much of the business rates
collected locally councils will be allowed to keep. We are unlikely to know that until the end of 2019,
leaving us just two months to finalise next year’s budget.
In the meantime, over the next year we will continue to focus on delivering the best possible services for
the best possible value for money, while finding ways to attract funds in order to improve the facilities and
services which residents tell us really matter to them.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Jo Lovelock
Leader, Reading Borough Council
3Financing Reading Borough Council
Where does our funding come from? Section 31
Business Grant 1.6%
Rates 30.4%
Funding to provide services is made up of
four areas: Council Tax, Business Rates,
Government grants such as Section 31
grant and Public Health grant and income
from fees, charges and rents. In 2019-20
the Council will benefit from being part of
the new Berkshire 75% Business Rates
Pilot.
New Homes
Bonus Council Tax
(Grant) 2.7% 65.3%
Reading Borough Council’s Budget 2019-20
Reading Borough Council’s net budget requirement for 2019-20 is £139.5 Million. The
diagram above shows how the budget is planned to be spent to deliver the council’s
services in 2019-20.
How do we spend the money? 31p pays for Childrens, Education & Early Help
Service
26p pays for Adult Care & Health Care Services
15p pays for Environment & Neighbourhood
Services
9p pays for the Resources Directorate
10p pays for for improvements to Council assets
9p pays for other corporate items
4Council Tax Values for 2019-20
How much is your bill?
Your Council Tax Bill is based upon the value of your property. The council tax for each
valuation band is calculated as a proportion of Band D.
Your Council Tax Bill helps to pay for all services delivered by Reading Borough Council,
Thames Valley Police Authority and the Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service.
The table below shows the council tax at each band and the contribution to each budget.
Council Royal Berkshire
Reading Borough Thames Valley
Tax Fire & Rescue Total
Council Police Authority
Band Service
£ £ £ £
A 1,084.82 137.52 44.19 1,266.53
B 1,265.62 160.44 51.55 1,477.61
C 1,446.43 183.36 58.92 1,688.71
D 1,627.23 206.28 66.28 1,899.79
E 1,988.84 252.12 81.01 2,321.97
F 2,350.44 297.96 95.74 2,744.14
G 2,712.05 343.8 110.47 3,166.32
H 3,254.46 412.56 132.56 3,799.58
Funding for Adult Social Care
Adult Social Care Precept
In 2015 the government created the Adult Social Care Precept, which allowed Councils that
provide social care to adults to increase their share of Council Tax by up to an extra 2%,
which the Council applied in 2016/17. In 2016 they announced that for the 3 years from
2017/18 to 2019/20 Councils would be allowed to increase this by up to 3% in any given
year, but no more than 6% in total over those years. Reading Borough Council took the
decision to increase the Adults Social Care Precept element of Council Tax by 3% in
2017/18 and 2018/19. As a result, in 2019/20 the Adults Social Care Precept will increase
by 0%.
The Government has said that this precept must be shown as a separate charge on all
council tax bills. The precept shown on the bills is for the precepts in 2016/17, 2017/18
and 2018/19. There is no addition to the precept in 2019/20.
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