YOUR 2018/19 COUNCIL TAX EXPLAINED - One Tamworth, Perfectly Placed. Open for business since the 7th century A.D - Tamworth Borough Council
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YOUR 2018/19
COUNCIL TAX EXPLAINED
One Tamworth, Perfectly Placed.
Open for business since the 7th century A.D.
Council Tax and Business Rates 2018/19
Contents page
Where does your
3
money go?
Who does what? 4
Facts about your
Council Tax bill 5
Local Council Tax Welcome
Reduction 9
Now more than ever, people are
turning to their Local Authorities for
Pay by direct debit
10 support. It is therefore vital that we
continue to provide those services that
What we have are important to you.
achieved 11
Despite further reductions in the
funding we receive from Central
Single person discount Government, we continue to work hard
19
to ensure we retain high-quality, value
Handy contacts for money services for our residents.
20
This booklet outlines how we plan to
spend our share of the money raised
from your Council Tax and Business
Rates this year. Please take a few
minutes to read through this
information.
You may find you are eligible to claim
an exemption or discount, which could
reduce how much Council Tax you need
to pay. See pages 5-8 for more detail.
www.tamworth.gov.uk
2
Where does your money go?
10p to Tamworth Borough Council
73p
5p to Fire & Rescue Authority to Staffordshire
County Council
to Office of the Police and
12p Crime Commissioner
Staffordshire (OPCC Staffordshire)
The table below shows how much of your Council Tax goes to each Authority.
Who gets your money? Council Tax Increase
Your bill is divided up like this (Band D) (subject to rounding) this year
Fire & Rescue Authority £73.53 2.75%
Tamworth Borough Council £171.75 3.00%
Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner
Staffordshire (OPCC Staffordshire) £192.56 6.29%
Staffordshire County Council £1,210.52 5.95%
Total amount Payable (Band D)* £1,648.36 5.53%
*This is the amount all Band D properties in Tamworth will pay for their core services.
The actual amount of Council Tax you pay will depend on which Council Tax band your property is in. More than 80%
of people in Tamworth will pay less than the Band D charge. Any discounts and benefits you are entitled to receive
may reduce your charge. For more information on Council Tax bands and discounts please see pages 5-9.
Summary of your Council Tax charge
This table shows you what this Authority plans to spend in the coming year and the amount
it will raise from Council Tax.
Planned Spending Cost/Income
To work out the Band D Council Tax
we divide the amount to be raised Gross spending (including Tariff) £53,145m
from Council Tax by the number of Less income
Band D equivalent properties in (including Retained Business Rates) £45,810m
Tamworth, after adjusting for
discounts, exemptions and local Net expenditure £7.335m
Council Tax reductions. Less Central Government support £3.653 m
and Net Business Rates income
Amount to be raised from Council Tax £3.682m
3
Who does what?
This page highlights the main services provided by
Tamworth Borough Council funded by your Council Tax.
Tamworth
Borough Council
Waste Collection
and Recycling
Collection of Council
Tax and Business Rates
Local Council
Tax Reduction
Support for
the Homeless
Parks and
Open Spaces
Planning and
Building Control
Street Cleaning
Promoting Economic
Growth & Regeneration
Environmental Health
Leisure Services
Election
4 Administration
Facts about your Council Tax bill
Find out more about your Council Tax bill, including
information on discounts, exemptions and appeals.
How is Council Tax calculated?
Your Council Tax is based on two adults living in a property.
n If only one person lives there, they are entitled to a 25% discount.
n If nobody lives there, the bill may be reduced. See page 6 for more detail.
n Certain properties could be 100% exempt even if they are occupied.
See page 7 for more detail.
Please remember, if you are waiting for the outcome of an application for a reduction, you
must continue to pay your current bill. If successful, you will be entitled to a refund of any
overpaid Council Tax.
Council Tax valuation bands
The Valuation Office Agency, part of HM
Revenue and Customs (not your local
council) has put every property into one of
eight valuation bands. A full list of valuation
bands is available on its website at
www.voa.gov.uk (see table below).
Your Council Tax bill states which band
applies to your home and your home’s
valuation is based on an estimate of how
much it was worth on 1 April 1991.
Price changes since that time won’t
affect the valuation.
Band Range of values Proportion of
as at 1 April 1991 Band D tax payable
A Up to and including £40,000 6/9
B £40,001 to £52,000 7/9
C £52,001 to £68,000 8/9
D £68,001 to £88,000 1
E £88,001 to £120,000 11/9
F £120,001 to £160,000 13/9
G £160,001 to £320,000 15/9
H More than £320,000 2
5
Could l get a discount? Empty and second homes
This depends on the number of adults in You may be able to get a discount on your
your house and their circumstances. If any of bill for empty homes. This will depend on
the adults are on the list below, they may not where the property is. If your main residence
be counted for Council Tax purposes. If this is elsewhere you will be charged the full
takes the number of ‘counted’ adults below Council Tax for any home in Tamworth.
two, you could be eligible for a discount. Contact us to find out more. (See page 20).
n Full time students, student nurses, Type of home Discount Allowed
apprentices, youth training trainees and Empty & unfurnished
foreign language assistants. up to 2 months 100%
n Young people for whom child benefit is Empty & unfurnished
payable and 18/19 year olds who have over 2 months None
just left school or college.
n Patients resident in hospital or being
Empty & undergoing 50% for
major repairs up to 1 year
looked after in care homes.
n Severely mentally impaired people. Furnished & 2nd homes None
n People in hostels or night shelters.
In addition, properties empty and
n Low paid care workers usually for charities. unfurnished over two years are subject to a
n Carers for a person with a disability who
150% charge to encourage owners to bring
them back into use. The Private Sector
is NOT a partner or child under 18.
Housing Team can give you advice about
n Members of religious communities such bringing your property back into use.
as monks or nuns. Telephone 01827 709486.
n People in detention (except for non-
payment of Council Tax or a fine). If you buy or rent a property that is already
n Spouses or dependants of students who
empty, the reductions above may have been
used by the previous tax payer, the discount
are non-British subjects and are periods will not start again.
prevented by immigration regulations
from working or claiming benefits.
Family annexes
n Members of visiting forces, certain Most annexes in the Borough are exempt –
international and defence organisations see class T and W exemptions on page 7.
and those with diplomatic privilege However from 1 April 2014, a new Council
or immunity. Tax discount of 50% was introduced for
family annexes that are not exempt.
Reduction for people If you currently have an annexe which is
with disabilities lived in by a family member or used by the
If you, or someone who lives with you, needs resident of the main dwelling you can
a room, an extra bathroom or kitchen, or receive a 50% Council Tax discount on the
extra space in your property to meet special annexe.
needs arising from a disability, your bill may
be reduced. The bill may be reduced to that of The new discount is not based on
a property in the band immediately below the occupation or the annexe being furnished
band of your property. If your property is in but on the use by the resident of the main
Band A, a reduction (equivalent to one ninth building or occupation by a family member.
6 of band D) will be given. This reduction is not If a non family member occupies an annexe
based on your income or savings. the Family Annexe Discount will not apply.
Could l be exempt from Council Tax?
Some properties may be exempt from Council Tax.
Class Unoccupied properties which are:
B Owned by a charity (allowed for up to six months)
D Left empty by someone who has gone to prison
E Previously occupied by a person in permanent residential care
F Waiting for probate or letters of administration to be granted
(continuous for up to six months after)
G Empty because occupation is forbidden by law
H Waiting to be occupied by a minister of religion
I Left empty by someone who has moved to receive personal
care by reason of old age, disablement or illness
J Left empty by someone who has moved to provide personal
care to another person
K Owned by a student and last occupied by a student
L Subject to a Repossession Order
Q The responsibility of a bankrupt person’s trustee
R A site for a caravan, mobile home or mooring
T Unable to let separately because it is linked to, or in the grounds of
another property
Class Occupied properties where:
M/N All the residents are students
O They are used for UK armed forces accommodation, whether occupied or not
P At least one liable person is a member of a visiting force
S All residents are less than 18 years old
U All residents are severely mentally impaired
V At least one liable person is a foreign diplomat
W It is annexed to a family home and occupied by that family’s elderly
or disabled relatives
7
Can l appeal against my What if l don’t think l should be
Council Tax band? paying Council Tax?
Yes, you may appeal against your Council You can appeal to the Borough Council if
Tax band. There are several situations where you think you are not liable to pay Council
you can appeal against the band in which Tax e.g. because you are not the resident or
your house has been placed: owner, or because your property is exempt
n Within six months of becoming the new
or you are entitled to a discount. You should
not withhold payment if you are making an
tax payer for the property.
appeal. You should pay as normal and a
n Within six months of the Valuation Office refund will be made if you are successful.
Agency making a change to
the band.
Changes in circumstances
n If there have been specific material If you have been granted a reduction, you
changes in the property value. must tell the Council of any change in
Any queries about appeals and bandings circumstances which will affect your
should be made direct to the Valuation Office entitlement within 21 days. If you fail to do
Agency. See handy contacts on page 20. so you may be faced with a penalty of £70.
For more details about Council Tax
discounts and exemptions, see pages 5-7.
How we collect and use information
The Borough Council is required under information you have provided to the
section 6 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 Council Tax team, with private organisations
to participate in the National Fraud Initiative employed to conduct data matching for the
(NFI) data matching exercise. Council Tax prevention and detection of fraud.
data is provided to the Audit Commission
for this purpose and will be used for cross- Data matching helps to identify fraud but it
systems and cross-authority comparison may also identify claims and payments
for the prevention and detection of fraud. which are erroneous. Where a match is found
it may indicate that there is an inconsistency
We advise Council Tax payers that the data which requires further investigation. No
held by the Council in respect of your assumption is made as to whether there is
Council Tax liability will be used for fraud, error or another explanation until an
comparison purposes. investigation is carried out.
The eight District and Borough Councils If you are currently in receipt of a Council
within the Staffordshire area have worked in Tax discount that you are not entitled to, or
partnership with Staffordshire County require further information, please contact
Council to conduct a review of Council Tax our Council Tax team.
discounts. The Council may share the See handy contacts on page 20.
8
Local Council Tax Reduction
The scheme is for working age claimants,
including those on Universal Credit:
n Support is based on 75% of Council
Tax liability (restricted to Band D).
This means that most working age
claimants have to pay at least 25% of
their liability
n Support continues to be based on
100% of Council Tax liability for
working age people who get a Severe
Disability Premium, or who have a
disabled child, or who claim a War
Disability, War Widows Pension or
receive an Armed Forces Please note that there is a national scheme
Compensation payment of regulations for people of State Pension
n Second Adult Rebate has been
Credit age who do not claim working age
benefits, which is broadly the same as the
abolished
previous Council Tax Benefit
n From April 2016, maintenance is rules for pensioners.
excluded as income
Personal Budgeting Support
If you have made a claim for, or are in
receipt of, Universal Credit and are
finding it difficult to manage your money,
the Benefits Team can provide some
personal budgeting support. Contact
01827 709709 for an appointment.
Assisted Digital Support
If you need help making a claim for
Universal Credit, or do not have
access to the internet, the Benefits
Team can assist you with this.
Contact 01827 709709 for an
GO TO
appointment.
www.tamworth.gov.uk/council-tax-reduction-scheme
for more advice and information about our
Local Council Tax Reduction scheme.
9
Pay the easy way
Sign up for Direct Debit over the phone
You can pay your annual Council Tax or Business Rates bill in twelve instalments from
April to March, rather than ten, but you need to contact us via email on
enquiries@tamworth.gov.uk before 5 April 2018 if you wish to do this. We can also extend
10 your monthly instalments through to March during the year, but you need to contact us
via email if you wish to do this.What we have
achieved
The money that Tamworth Borough Council
collects through Council Tax helps pay for
services such as household waste collection
and recycling, street cleansing, and
maintaining parks and open spaces.
We achieve all of this using around 11% of
the Council Tax we collect from you each
year. The remaining 89% is passed on to the
County Council, the Office of the Police and
Crime Commissioner and the Fire Authority. n More people will be living independent
The money we receive from Council Tax lives with access to facilities,
n There will be fewer vulnerable people
helps us achieve our vision ‘One Tamworth,
perfectly placed’- Open for business since
requiring specialist services.
7th Century AD which is focused on longer
term, aspirational goals of the Council.
Some of the things achieved during 2017/18:
Thematic priorities & n Tamworth became the 200th area to be
ambitions 2017 to 2020 granted Dementia Friendly Community
status by the Alzheimer’s Society,
Progress against the three thematic n Tamworth won gold in the Heart of
priorities adopted by the Council in 2016 England in Bloom competition for the
has been considerable and these priorities eighth year running,
n The Sports Development team worked
are still at the forefront of our plans and
ambitions for ‘people’, ‘place’ and
‘organisation’. with sports clubs and organisations to
offer a varied programme of events over
the summer in ‘Playscheme 2017’,
1. ‘Living a quality life n A new and modern play area,
in Tamworth’ incorporating new play equipment, was
opened in Belgrave next to the recently
The Council believes that everyone should installed outdoor gym,
n ‘Active Tamworth’ continued its
have the opportunity to live a quality life. In
order to enable this, it will work with its public,
programme of activities to increase
partners and stakeholders to ensure that:
participation rates in physical activity,
n More people will live longer, healthier n To promote safety and crime prevention,
lives, the Tamworth Community Safety
n Fewer children will be obese and run the
Partnership carried out various
campaigns including ‘Spooks &
risk of heart disease and diabetes,
Sparklers’ and ‘Summerwatch’.
n People will feel safer and less fearful of
crime and anti-social behaviour,
n The built and natural environments will
be conserved to the highest possible 11
standards,Some of the things achieved during
2017/18:
n A new Small Business Grants scheme
was launched to help promote new
small business start-ups, self-
employment and entrepreneurship in
Tamworth,
n The opening of the Tamworth Enterprise
Centre in the renamed Philip Dix House
marked the completion of the first
building project in the £6.1million
Enterprise Quarter scheme,
n A £365,000 grant was awarded from
Arts Council England to support the
2. ‘Growing strong together redevelopment of Tamworth Assembly
Rooms,
in Tamworth’
n A £499,000 grant was awarded from the
The Council believes that the managed Heritage Lottery Fund to provide an
growth of the local economy based upon interactive and family friendly gallery at
sustainable business growth, better skilled Tamworth Castle,
n Tamworth Castle won silver in both the
jobs, a vibrant town centre, high quality
retail and leisure offers and local, regional
and national connectivity will help make Small Visitor Attraction of the Year and
Tamworth an acknowledged “Great place to Best Tourism Experience for Santa Event
live, work and raise a family”. To achieve categories of this year’s Enjoy
this, the Council will seek to ensure that: Staffordshire Tourism Awards.
n Thousands of visitors were attracted to
n More businesses will locate and succeed the town for events including; St
in Tamworth, George’s Day, Fireworks Evening,
n People will have access to a full range of Outdoor Cinema, Heritage Open Day,
quality housing options, Christmas Lights Switch On and We
Love Tamworth,
n Local infrastructure and connectivity will
support an active workforce and help n A new Council housing repairs and
grow the economy, investment contractor was appointed,
n The Council will be recognised as both n A developer was appointed as part of
business friendly and business-like in the Tinkers Green and Kerria housing
the way it facilitates and operates, regeneration project that will result in
the building of 141 new Council homes.
n Tamworth Town Centre will be
regenerated and complement the
outstanding retail and leisure offer, 3. ‘Delivering quality services
in Tamworth’
n Tamworth will mean ‘a great place to live’
not simply ‘a place with more houses’,
Despite the unprecedented cuts in
n The Council will have a Commercial Government funding and an extended
Investment Strategy and an associated period of austerity, the Council has sought
trading arm designed to invest in to maintain a full suite of services. It accepts
assets/other means of sustainable that changes in service scopes and
12
income generation. standards have had an impact, however; itGeneral Fund is a major achievement as the
Some of the things Council, like others, has planned to deliver
its budget process in light of unprecedented
achieved during adverse economic conditions with a great
deal of uncertainty over future investment
2017/18: and income levels such as car parking, land
charges and corporate property rents.
n The enablement of self-service for
customers took another step forward The Council continues to be faced with
with the design of a specification for significant financial demands from Central
a customer portal and Government following new legislation in
commencement of an exercise for its areas such as Homelessness, Data
procurement, Protection (the new General Data Protection
n 67 self-serve processes now
Regulations - GDPR), planning and
transparency – as well as substantial
available for customers,
reductions in Government grant support.
n The number of face to face enquiries
reduced to 6000. Additional demands for services (i.e.
benefits and housing) arising from these
remains committed to protecting those austere times have been included where
most vulnerable in our communities. possible but this is dependent on the length
In order to sustain this commitment, the and depth of the austerity measures. There
Council embarked upon the largest and is also a high degree of uncertainty arising
most complex transformation plan in its from the work progressing with regard to
history. Consequently, the Council is now in business rates retention (and the associated
a position to ensure that the following impact on the Council’s business rates
ambitions are met: income and associated baseline and tariff
levels) – it has recently been announced
n Customer satisfaction levels will be that Councils will be able to retain 75% of
maintained above 90%, business rates collected from 2020/21 rather
n Access to all Council services will be
than 100% as previously planned. In
addition, the Government are also
improved, consulting on a review of the distribution
n The Council will set and maintain methodology, the ‘Fair Funding Review’ as
service standards that will be consistent, well as the planned Business Rates Reset
accessible and delivered by skilled staff, (when a proportion of the growth in
business rates achieved since 2013/14 will
n We will save you time and money by be redistributed) - both of which will also
doing business with you online,
n Fewer customers will have to visit the
Council offices to resolve their issues.
Which means for the future...
The medium term financial planning
process is being challenged by Government
austerity measures as well as continued
uncertainty.
The accomplishment of a balanced 3 Year 13
Medium Term Financial Strategy for thetake effect from 2020/21. There is a high risk engagement with our citizens and the way in
that this will have a significant effect on the which we manage our data and information.
Council’s funding level from 2020/21. Work is continuing on a number of actions to
address the financial position in future years:
The Council is responding to these n Delivering Quality Services project – the
challenges by considering the opportunities demand management approach to shift
to grow our income. We are ambitious with demand to more efficient methods of
our commercial view and will continue to service delivery – online and automation
work hard to identify income streams that (Interactive Voice Response). A savings
enable us to continue to meet the needs of target of £100k p.a. has already been
our residents. We continue to focus on included within the MTFS together with
supporting vulnerable people and in reduced CRM costs of £62k p.a. from
particular in ensuring that those facing in 2019/2020,
n Recruitment freeze – where possible,
relation to financial hardship and housing
difficulties are prioritised. We will work
temporary 12 month appointments are
collaboratively with others to maximise our
now only being made; there is a robust
collective effectiveness and will seek to
challenge/re-justification process in place
develop the role played by the third sector.
for all vacant posts with a requirement to
investigate alternative options including
A fundamental review of senior
restructuring to fill vacancies/looking at
management will provide us with the
what we can stop doing,
n Spend freeze – Managers have
opportunity to significantly reduce
management costs to create a management
structure that is flexible and focussed to previously been required to restrict / limit
meet future needs. In addition, we will be spending to essential spend only (there
developing our operating model to further was a £1.6m underspend in 2016/17 –
strengthen our service delivery and strategic although the majority was windfall
approaches. In particular we will further income, c. £0.57m was lower level
reinforce our use of knowledge and evidence underspend). Savings of over £150k p.a.
in decision making, ensure that we are clear have been included within the proposals,
in our service offer and accountable to n Alternative investment options arising
residents. from the Commercial Investment
Strategy (as well as the Treasury
We continue to invest in our teams, Management Investment Strategy,
transform our processes and ensure our including any prudential borrowing
technology infrastructure is fit for purpose. opportunities) to generate improved
We have identified a number of returns of c. 5% p.a. (plus asset growth)
opportunities to improve customer access to including:
information and services as well as our n Set up of trading company to develop
new income streams;
n Local investment options – Lower
Gungate/Solway Close development
including the potential to drawdown
funding from the Local Growth
Fund/Local Enterprise Partnerships
(GBS and Staffordshire);
n Investments in a Diversified Property
Fund;
n Review of reserves/creation of fund
14 for transformation costs (if needed),
andn Targeted Savings – to identify
potential areas for review in future
years.
Through the capital programme over the
next 3 years, we will be investing £18million
in priority areas identified through
consultation with residents.
These include:
n £180k for refurbishment of the Castle
Grounds toilets;
n £0.3m for a Community Woodland and
cycleway at Amington;
n £147k on street lighting replacements;
cultures and processes – such as Agile
Working; Demand Management; Joint
n £45k for CCTV camera renewals; Working; Shared Services; and Locality
n £1.4m on disabled facilities grants for Delivery/Commissioning.
private sector housing improvements;
n £2.6m on the Enterprise Quarter
The Council aspires to be an ‘outcome
focused’ and efficient corporate entity where
including improvements to the Assembly
customers are key. Integral to this is the
Rooms and public realm works; and
n £0.5m to create welcoming gateways and
incorporation of ‘demand management’
principles, whereby the Council will have
routes to the town centre and identify greater control over the alignment of
and promote key development sites. services (‘supply’) to the increased needs
and expectations of the public (‘demand’).
To achieve our goals in 2018/19, Council Tax
needs to be increased by £5 (3.0%). For over The adoption of a Demand Management
90% of Tamworth households this means a operating model was approved by Cabinet in
rise of less than 10p per week. February 2015. This signifies a shift away
from trying to sustain a full suite of services
Delivering Value for Money at high standards with continuing budget
reductions, to understanding the needs of
Despite the impact of continuing austerity our customers and working with them to co-
and significant reductions in Government design how we meet those demands. It will
funding, Tamworth Borough Council has, in also involve the application of existing and
the main, continued to sustain a full suite of new technology to capture, collate and
essential services, and has recorded one of analyse customer insight, intelligence and
its most successful periods in terms of data so as to understand not just the ‘need’
customer satisfaction; measured but the cause, behaviours or decisions
performance; project delivery and financial creating the need.
management.
Linked with this, a major ‘Delivering Quality
In 2013, Cabinet endorsed the overarching Services’ project will incorporate a review of
document ‘Planning for a Sustainable Future’ processes and demand, with the aim of re-
as the strategy for meeting the financial designing processes to meet changing
challenges ahead, which enabled the Council customer expectations and making the best
to generate significant efficiencies without use of technology to deliver efficient and
any large scale impact upon the delivery of effective services to the customer, including
essential services. In addition to significant self-service and digital functionality.
savings, the Sustainability Strategy also 15
brought about changes to working models,Council Tax Bands 2018/19
Tamworth Fire & Rescue OPCC Staffordshire
Band Borough Authority Staffordshire County Total
Council Council
A £114.50 £49.02 £128.37 £807.01 £1,098.90
B £133.58 £57.19 £149.77 £941.52 £1,282.06
C £152.67 £65.36 £171.16 £1,076.02 £1,465.21
D £171.75 £73.53 £192.56 £1,210.52 £1,648.36
E £209.92 £89.87 £235.35 £1,479.52 £2,014.66
F £248.08 £106.21 £278.14 £1,748.53 £2,380.96
G £286.25 £122.55 £320.93 £2,017.53 £2,747.26
H £343.50 £147.06 £385.12 £2,421.04 £3,296.72
Percentage of 10% 5% 12% 73% 100%
total Council Tax
Tamworth Borough Revenue Support
Council’s Net Funding Grant (£0.5m)
Council Tax
(£3.7m) Net Business
Rates (£3.2m)
Council Tax Requirement Council Tax Amount Amount per
Calculation per Person Band D Property
Budget we need £7,192,669 £92.73 £335.51
Revenue Support Grant -£493,964 -£6.37 -£23.04
Business Rates (Net of Tariff) -£3,158,999 -£40.73 -£147.36
Subtotal £3,539,706 £45.63 £165.11
Add deficit from previous years £142,271 £1.83 £6.64
Council Tax £3,681,977 £47.46 £171.75
Why the Council Tax changes this year Amount
Raised from Council Tax 2017/18 £3.517m
Change in Council Spending
Inflation £0.281m
Change in Income -£0.189m
Developing Services £1.851m
Savings and Efficiencies -£0.735m
Decrease in use of money from our balances -£1.623m
Sub-total £3.102m
Changes in Government Financial Support £0.580m
16 Amount to be raised from Council Tax 2018/19 £3.682m
All figures quoted above exclude the costs and income for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as these are
not funded by Council Tax revenue.General Fund
Tamworth Borough Council provides
a wide range of services to local
residents, businesses and visitors.
n £0.3m surplus - (prior year £0.3m surplus)
-£0.3m
Highways & Transport Services
• Parking
£2m
n General Fund Housing Services
£2.0m - (prior year £1.8m)
£2.4m
• Private Sector Housing
• Housing Benefit
£0.1m
n Other Costs
£2.4m - (prior year £2.3m)
£3.9m
• Corporate Management
• Democratic Representation £2.7m
n Central Services to the Public
£0.1m - (prior year £0.3m)
£1.4m
• Elections -1.00 -0.50 0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00
• Local Land Charges
£ Million
• Local Tax Collection
n Cultural Services
£3.9m - (prior year £3.7m)
n Environmental Services
£2.7m - (prior year £3.1m)
n Planning Services
£1.4m - (prior year £1.4m)
• Culture & Heritage • Cemetery Services • Planning Policy &
• Recreation & Sport • Street Cleansing Applications
• Tourism • Waste Collection & • Building Control
• Community Safety • Recycling • Community & Economic
Development
Council Tax Requirement 2017/18 2018/19 Increase/
Decrease
Service Expenditure £39,443m £37.958m -4%
Service Income -£27.211m -£25.731m -5%
Net Cost of Services £12.232m £12.227m 0%
Council Tax -£-3.517m £-3.682m
Deficit/Surplus (-) of Trading Undertakings -£1.065m -£1.046m
Net income from investment interest, debt interest
payments and charges to HRA in relation to debt -£1.201m -£1.155m
Net Operating Expenditure £6.449m £6.344m -2%
Collection Fund Deficit / Surplus (-) -£0.419m £0.142m
Government Support -£0.771m -£0.494m
Business Rates (Net of Tariff) -£3.462m -£3.159m
Deficit for year £1.797m £2.833m 58%
Adjustments required by statute or proper
practices to ensure no impact on Council Tax -£0.343m £0.245m
Total Decrease in General Fund Balances £1.454m £3.078m 112% 17Housing Revenue Account
In addition, Tamworth Borough Council manages a Housing Revenue Account, specifically
for the management of the Council’s Housing Stock. These services for the borough’s
council housing tenants are funded through rents received & specific contributions.
Key Budget Figures for 2018/19:
Gross Income of: £20.1m Gross Expenditure of: £23.9m
Including Including
Dwelling Rents Receivable £17.4m Costs of Repairs £4.7m
Other Income £2.7m Supervision & Management £6.4m
Depreciation £4.5m
Interest payable £2.7m
Capital Expenditure funded by HRA £5.4m
Other Expenditure £0.2m
Other Information
n We will employ 324 staff in 2018/19 compared to 324 staff in 2017/18. (These figures are
estimated full time equivalents and not actual staff employed).
n It is estimated that at March 2018 we will have £63.1m in loans and £57.4m in
investments.
Environment Agency Midlands Region
The Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) Regulations 2011
The Environment Agency is a levying body for its Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk
Management Functions under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and the
Environment Agency (Levies) (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.
The Environment Agency has powers in respect of flood and coastal erosion risk
management for 2369 kilometres of main river and along tidal and sea defences in the
area of the Trent Regional Flood and Coastal Committee. Money is spent on the
construction of new flood defence schemes, the maintenance of the river system and
existing flood defences together with the operation of a flood warning system and
management of the risk of coastal erosion. The financial details are:
Trent Regional Flood and Coastal Committee 2017/18 2018/19
Gross Expenditure £37.515m £47.439m
Levies Raised £2.014m £2.054m
Total Council Tax Base 1.761m 1.792m
The majority of funding for flood defence comes directly from the Department for the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). However, under the new Partnership Funding
rule not all schemes will attract full central funding.To provide local funding for local
priorities and contributions for partnership funding the Regional Flood and Coastal
Committees recommend through the Environment Agency a local levy.
A change in the gross budgeted expenditure between years reflects the programme of
works for both capital and revenue needed by the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee to
which you contribute. The total Local Levy raised by this committee has increased by 2.0%
The total Local Levy raised has increased from £2,014,017 in 2017/2018 to
18 £2,054,297 for 2018/2019.Single person discount
If you live alone, or are the only person over 18 at your
address, you are entitled to a 25% Single Person Discount.
If you have already been granted this discount, it will be
shown on your bill.
If you are getting a discount but your circumstances
change so it no longer applies, the law says you must
contact us within 21 days. If you don't, you can be
fined £70. If you still don't inform us after that, you can be
fined another £280.
If someone moves out of an address temporarily, a single
person discount does not always apply, even when only one person remains; we have to
consider whether their main residence has changed.
The Council is committed to detecting discount fraud and regularly checks discounts
claimed. We have recently undertaken a review with other Staffordshire Local Authorities of
all single person discounts. We have access to a wide range of financial, electoral, housing
and benefit information to help us prevent and detect single person discount fraud.
Reducing fraudulent claims helps us to keep Council Tax increases lower.
What should I do if I think someone is claiming a
Council Tax discount fraudulently?
There are a number of ways you can tell us. You can do it anonymously, but if you do give
your name we will keep it confidential. We have trained and experienced staff who can
advise you if you are unsure about whether to tell us what you suspect.
You can:
n write to us at The Revenues Department,
Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, B79 7BZ
n email us at counciltax@tamworth.gov.uk
n ring us on 01827 709709
It is important that you give us as much
information as possible as this helps us to
gather enough evidence to cancel the
discount. Due to the Data Protection
Act (1998) and Human Rights Act (1998),
we cannot tell you what we have
done about a case you have reported,
but we will investigate all reports
and take suitable action.
19Handy Contacts
This information can be produced on request in other
formats and other languages. Call 01827 709709
Tamworth Borough Council
Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, Staffs, B79 7BZ
Customer Service Centre ........................................................................................01827 709709
Telephone Payments ..............................................................................................0345 2307709
Refuse Collection and Bulky Items Collection ......................................................0345 0020022
Email ................................................................................................enquiries@tamworth.gov.uk
Website ....................................................................................................www.tamworth.gov.uk
Tamworth Advice Centre ..........................................................................................03444 111444
Wates ........................................................................................................................0800 1830044
Help Stop Fraud
Fraud Hotline ............................................................................................................0800 854 440
Valuation Office Agency
Listing Officer, Valuation Office Agency ................................................................03000 501501
Valuation Office Website ....................................................................................www.voa.gov.uk
Fire
Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, Pirehill, Stone, ST15 0BS
www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk
Fire HQ ......................................................................................................................0300 3301000
In an Emergency Dial 999
Police
Police Headquarters, PO Box 3167, Stafford, ST16 9JZ
www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk
Police single number ................................................................................................................101
In an Emergency Dial 999
Staffordshire County Council
No 1 Staffordshire Place, Stafford, ST16 2LP
www.staffordshire.gov.uk
Main reception ........................................................................................................0300 111 8000
Adult social................................................................................................................0300 111 8010
Children and families................................................................................................01827 475555
20
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