Telford is on the up - but Council Tax isn’t! Council tax for Telford & Wrekin Council is frozen for the coming financial year and we intend to freeze it the following year as well – the third year in a row.

Since 2010, the Council has cut £70m from its budget due to cuts in government grant. That’s almost £1,000 less spent on local services for every home in the borough every year.

Your Council Tax 2015/16

Cllr Kuldip SahotaLeader Telford & Wrekin Council

The Council has already made most of the savings it must find by 2016. We will need to find another £21m by 2018 as further cuts in government grants continue.

Telford & Wrekin Council’s approach of supporting businesses has helped the borough economy grow by almost 50% above the national rate over the last three years, bringing jobs, growth and investment to the area and boosting the Council’s budget by £10m in 2015/16. This will be used to help support key services from deeper cuts, particularly those for vulnerable adults and children.

Our careful financial management in 2014/15 has meant we can fund some new one-off initiatives in 2015/16. These will further support our drive to help create jobs and investment in the borough. The new initiatives include:

n A £1m fund to boost high streets and the borough’s district centres to help these to attract more visitors and business. Local groups will be able to bid for much of this money.

n Free swimming for residents over 50 at Council pools until 2020 to help improve health. Residents under 16 already swim for free. This will mean that from April, 54% of people in the borough can swim for free.

FREE

50+

High Streets

£1M

£3.25M

FREE

£4M

£650K

St GeorgesRegeneration

Superfast

Social Care

£250K

Events and Promotions

£30M

Roads and Transport

FREE

50+

High Streets

£1M

£3.25M

FREE

£4M

£650K

St GeorgesRegeneration

Superfast

Social Care

£250K

Events and Promotions

£30M

Roads and Transport

2

n £1m to run the Community Pride Fund again in 2017/18, which community groups and businesses can bid for. The 2014/15 scheme was hugely oversubscribed.

n £650,000 to support regeneration in St Georges, including funding to help refurbish the Council-owned Gower Street former youth centre.

n An additional £250,000 to support events to help attract more visitors to the borough and promote it as a destination for businesses and visitors.

n £270,000 to support the Council’s initiative with Just Credit Union to offer an ethical alternative to expensive pay day lenders, support for people in crisis and for Telford Crisis Network’s foodbank – vital support for some of the most hard-pressed people in the borough.

n Almost £4m, to help roll out superfast broadband to parts of the borough where there is no broadband infrastructure and where none is planned. This will see 96% of borough homes and businesses have superfast broadband coverage.

n An additional £750,000 to boost the Council’s £13.8m Pride in Your Community programme and to continue the work of the Parish Environmental Action Teams until 2017. There are currently nine of these teams funded by a partnership between Telford & Wrekin Council and parish and town councils to carry out extra environmental work to make these areas even cleaner and greener.

n Investing a further £3.25m to minimise the effect of recent and proposed cuts in Adult Social Care and Children’s Safeguarding.

n Investing more than £30m over the next two years to improve roads and transport.

While we have frozen your Telford & Wrekin Council tax bill for another year, costs for other services that form part of your overall bill and over which we have no control (fire, police and town or parish council) may go up.

FREE

50+

High Streets

£1M

£3.25M

FREE

£4M

£650K

St GeorgesRegeneration

Superfast

Social Care

£250K

Events and Promotions

£30M

Roads and Transport

CUSmart LoanFREE

50+

High Streets

£1M

£3.25M

FREE

£4M

£650K

St GeorgesRegeneration

Superfast

Social Care

£250K

Events and Promotions

£30M

Roads and Transport

FREE

50+

High Streets

£1M

£3.25M

FREE

£4M

£650K

St GeorgesRegeneration

Superfast

Social Care

£250K

Events and Promotions

£30M

Roads and Transport

FREE

50+

High Streets

£1M

£3.25M

FREE

£4M

£650K

St GeorgesRegeneration

Superfast

Social Care

£250K

Events and Promotions

£30M

Roads and Transport

FREE

50+

High Streets

£1M

£3.25M

FREE

£4M

£650K

St GeorgesRegeneration

Superfast

Social Care

£250K

Events and Promotions

£30M

Roads and Transport

3

£29mNeighbourhood & Leisure Services

£6mCustomer Services

£9mFamily, Cohesion and Commissioning

£1mDevelopment, Business & Employment

£38mAdult Social Services

£2mPublic Health, Wellbeing & Public Protection

£21mChildren’s Safeguarding & Specialist Services

Where your money goes (2015/16 net expenditure)

This leaflet gives you information on the money needed by Telford & Wrekin Council and parish and town councils. Information about police and fire spending is shown in the separate leaflets available on the website. www.telford.gov.uk

£7mOther Services

£123m£10mEducation & Corporate Parenting

4

Budget Funding Summary 2015/16

£000

Amount for each person in the area

£

Total spending to fund 123,661 697

Less: collection fund surpluses 2,262 13

Net amount to be raised 121,399 684

Revenue Support Grant (inc. top up and freeze grant) (33,887) (191)

Non Domestic Rates (35,655) (201)

Remaining amount to be raised from Council Tax 51,857 292

Financial summary of Telford & Wrekin Council spend1st April 2015 to 31st March 2016Telford & Wrekin Council’s budgeted spending and income

2014/15Net Spending

£000

Service 2015/16 Total

Spending£000

2015/16Income

£000

2015/16Net Spending

£000

0 Public Health, Wellbeing & Public Protection 11,455 9,755 1,700

28,902 Neighbourhood & Leisure Services 43,185 14,424 28,761

2,068 Development, Business & Employment 24,709 23,776 933

3,930 Customer Services 106,640 100,989 5,651

41,849 Adult Social Services 53,483 15,248 38,235

15,786 Family, Cohesion & Commissioning 13,754 4,499 9,255

16,069 Childrens Safeguarding & Specialist Services 26,320 5,793 20,527

10,883 Education & Corporate Parenting 118,352 108,548 9,804

9,748 Other Services 27,478 19,282 8,196

0 Less Internal Recharges included above (25,413) (25,413) 0

129,235 Total Spending 399,963 276,901 123,062

(49) less amount from balances/reserves 599

129,186 Overall Net Spending 123,661

Increase in Net Budget

Inflation 1,871

Cost of Capital Programme 1,258

Savings - Ongoing and One-off (16,259)

Part of above savings that relate to funding 1,915

Safeguarding Children & Adult Social Services contingency 3,250

Service Pressures 1,755

Other Items including grants and base savings 37

Change in Use of Balances/Reserves 648

Total Movement (5,525)

5

2014/15Council Tax

Requirement

2015/16Council Tax

Requirement

2015/16Band ‘D’ Council Tax Level

& Increase

(£000) Council (£000) (£) %

50,197644

Telford & Wrekin Council - General Fund - Special Fund

51,200657

1,132.9614.53

00

50,841 Total for Telford & Wrekin 51,857 1,147.49 0

8,076 West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner 8,401 185.90 1.99

4,006 Shropshire and Wrekin Fire & Rescue Authority 4,168 92.22 1.99

2,898 Parish and Town Councils 2,993 66.23 1.25

65,821 Total 67,419 1,491.84 0.42

Overall council tax funding requirementThe enclosed bill for 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2016 is the total amount of Council Tax required by four organisations providing public services in your area - Telford & Wrekin Council, your local parish or town council, West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner & Shropshire and Wrekin Fire & Rescue Authority.

The large part of spending by Telford & Wrekin Council, West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner and Shropshire & Wrekin Fire & Rescue Authority is funded by Government Grant. An element is also funded by Non Domestic Rates. The balance of net spending for these authorities, and all the spending of the parish and town councils, is funded by Council Tax.

You only get one bill because we collect the Council Tax for the other authorities as well as ourselves. The breakdown of requirements is shown below.

Telford & Wrekin Council has set no increase of Council Tax for 2015/16. However, due to increases in precepts from Police, Fire and Parish and Town Councils, average bills have increased by 0.42%. The actual increase for each tax payer will depend on which parish they are in. Increases for 2015/16 vary between 0.17% and 2.27%

The amount of your Council Tax bill will depend on where your home is and which valuation band it is in. The exact amount is shown on your Council Tax bill. However, 63% of homes in Telford and Wrekin are in the lowest two bands which will mean average total bills of £994.56 for Band A and £1,160.32 for Band B properties.

6

Parish Council informationProvided by Parish and Town Councils - 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2016

Parish or Town Council Amount Requested

2014/15

Amount Requested

2015/16

Tax Base Band D

Equivalent2015/16

Charge per Band D 2015/16

Band D Change

From Last Year

General Fund

Chetwynd 2,910 3,500 235.1 14.88 19%

Chetwynd Aston & Woodcote 3,960 4,000 163.3 24.49 2%

Church Aston 17,170 17,235 474.3 36.33 0%

Dawley Hamlets 38,895 39,760 2,036.1 19.52 1%

Donnington & Muxton 179,405* 159,476 3,566.9 44.70 0%

Edgmond 14,325 14,930 515.5 28.96 4%

Ercall Magna 29,852 30,288 548.5 55.21 0%

Eyton 0 0 36.3 0 0%

Gorge, The 60,839 60,125 1,278.4 47.03 -6%

Great Dawley 238,781 241,802 2,260.7 106.95 0%

Hadley & Leegomery 248,350 256,720 3,642.5 70.47 2%

Hollinswood & Randlay 143,615 155,190 1,285.3 120.74 7%

Ketley 98,264 101,968 1,090.1 93.54 0%

Kynnersley 1,373 1,373 73.8 18.59 0%

Lawley & Overdale 134,164 150,145 2,292.0 65.50 2%

Lilleshall 0 37,000 512.6 72.18 61%

Little Wenlock 12,989 14,228 231.7 61.40 7%

Madeley 252,690 259,490 3,705.8 70.02 1%

Newport 370,362 377,408 3,328.5 113.38 1%

Oakengates 207,375 214,185 2,174.5 98.49 1%

Preston 300 300 96.8 3.09 0%

Rodington 8,809 10,292 335.7 30.65 14%

St Georges & Priorslee 140,000 140,000 3,631.7 38.54 -2%

Stirchley & Brookside 217,447 217,447 2,141.4 101.54 -2%

Tibberton & Cherrington 4,400 4,944 266.3 18.56 12%

Waters Upton 14,445 15,000 376.5 39.84 2%

Wellington 302,830 307,270 6,114.9 50.24 0%

Wrockwardine 64,085 65,000 1,399.2 46.45 0%

Wrockwardine Wood & Trench 90,230 93,800 1,377.3 68.10 2%

Total Increase 2,897,864 2,992,875 45,191.7 66.23 1.3%

In 2014/15 and 2015/16 some parishes are receiving a grant to compensate them for a lower tax base as a result of the new arrangements for Council Tax Benefit (Council Tax Support). For 2015/16 the Parish of Lilleshall is now separate to Donnington & Muxton (following a referendum). Their Council Tax for 2015/16 represents a 61% increase from that for the combined Lilleshall, Donnington & Muxton levied in 2014/15.*This related to the Parish of Lilleshall, Donnington & Muxton in 2014/15.

7

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2014

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2015

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2015

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££

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8

Special FundIn certain areas the Council provides services which in other areas are provided by Parish and Town Councils. There is a special council tax charge for this from the Council. For 2015/16 we need two levels of special fund charge. The basic charge of £0.20 at Band ‘D’ level is chargeable to all the Parish and Town councils in the Special Fund Area. These are: Dawley Hamlets, Great Dawley, Hollinswood & Randlay, Lawley & Overdale, Madeley, Oakengates, St Georges & Priorslee, Stirchley & Brookside,The Gorge, Wellington and Wrockwardine Wood & Trench. There is an extra charge of £30.98 at Band ‘D’ to the Parish and Town councils which have chosen not to take over responsibility for running footway lighting in their areas. These are: Dawley Hamlets, Great Dawley, Hollinswood & Randlay, Madeley, Oakengates, Stirchley & Brookside, The Gorge and Wellington.

Flood defence levyThe Council is required to provide the following information for the Environment Agency issuing a flood defence levy in the area. The levy is on the area as a whole and is included within Telford & Wrekin Council’s General Fund budget.

2014/15 2015/16

Council £ £

Midlands Region flood levy 53,245 53,352

9

Your Council Tax Explained

The following information aims to help you understand your council tax bill and what you must pay. This is a brief guide and should not be read as a full interpretation of the legislation. If you require more information please visit our website at www.telford.gov.uk or contact us on 01952 383838

How your council tax is calculatedThere are three main factors in calculating your council tax each year:

n     What the Council needs to spend on providing its services after taking into consideration other income, such as grants from Central Government, business rates from local companies and fees and charges for services

n     The valuation band your property has been placed in

n     Whether you are entitled to any discounts

Council Tax Valuation BandsMost domestic properties are subject to council tax. One bill is issued to each property whether it is a house, bungalow, flat or mobile home and whether the property is owned or rented. Every property has been allocated to one of eight valuation bands according to open market values as at 1st April 1991. Your council tax bill shows which band applies to your property. 

Valuation Band Range of Values

A Up to and including £40,000

B £40,001     to   £52,000

C £52,001     to   £68,000

D £68,001     to   £88,000

E £88,001     to   £120,000

F £120,001   to   £160,000

G £160,001   to   £320,000

H More than        £320,000

10

Appeals Against BandingThere are limited circumstances in which an appeal can be made which includes demolition of the property, conversion of houses to flats, change of use to business purposes and physical changes in the locality which may affect your property value. A taxpayer can also appeal within six months of becoming a taxpayer or of having their band changed by the Valuation Office and within six months of a band change to a property similar to their own. Council tax bands are based on property values as at 1st April 1991 and therefore recent purchase prices are not necessarily the best evidence in an appeal. Banding and appeals against banding are dealt with by the Valuation Office Agency.  If you wish to appeal, please visit their website at www.voa.gov.uk 

Other Appeals You can appeal to the Council if:

n you do not think you should have to pay council tax because you do not live in or own the property

n you think the property should be exempt from council tax

n you believe that Telford & Wrekin Council has made a mistake in calculating your bill

n you have been refused a discount to which you believe you are entitled

If you wish to appeal on any of these grounds, you must notify the Council in writing so that we can reconsider your case. If you disagree with our decision, you have a further right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal and we will give you details of this procedure when you are notified of the result of your initial appeal.  Please address initial appeals to:Revenues and Benefits, Telford & Wrekin Council, PO Box 249, Telford, TF3 4LPor email us at council.tax@telford.gov.uk Making an appeal does not entitle you to withhold payment. If your appeal is successful, we will repay any council tax you have overpaid.

11

EMPTYHOUSE

?

Reduce Your Council Tax

Single Person DiscountThe full council tax bill assumes that there are at least two adults living in a property. If only one adult lives in the property as their main home, the council tax charge will be reduced by 25%. 

You can apply on line at www.telford.gov.uk or call our Customer Contact Centre on 01952 383838

If you own or rent a property that is unoccupied you may be paying 100% council tax. If the property has been empty for two years or more, you will be charged 150% council tax.  The Home Improvement Team can provide advice and support on how you could bring this property back into use and access possible funding to help you with this. 

For free advice and support call the Council’s Empty Property Officer on 01952 381863 or email Thehomeimprovementteam@telford.gov.uk

Disabled Band ReductionYou may qualify for a reduction in your council tax bill if your property has:

n     at least one disabled person permanently resident; and

n     a room or space which is needed to specifically meet the needs of the disabled person;

n     a second bathroom or kitchen which is needed to specifically meet the needs of the disabled person; or

n     space for using a wheelchair indoors.

The council tax bill may be reduced by the equivalent of one valuation band, meaning a Band D property would be charged the rate of a Band C property in the same area.  The reduction of a Band A property would be 5/9ths of a Band D charge.

You can apply on line at www.telford.gov.uk or call our Customer Contact Centre on 01952 383838

12

Other Discounts Some people are not counted when calculating the number of adults resident in a property. These include:

n Persons for whom Child Benefit is payable

n School and college leavers under 20 years of age

n Students under 20 years of age studying up to A level or equivalent

n Apprentices and Youth Training trainees

n Full time students, student nurses and foreign language students

n Patients in a home or hospital patients

n Residents in hostels

n Carers – where the cared for person is in receipt of certain benefits or caring is carried out on behalf of a charitable body this does not apply to spouses

n Severely mentally impaired people

n People in detention (unless for non-payment of council tax)

n Members of religious communities

n Members of visiting forces, members of international headquarters or persons with diplomatic privileges or immunity

n A spouse or dependant of a student, where they are not a British citizen and are prevented by immigration rules from taking paid employment or from claiming benefits

A discount may be applicable where a person is occupying a second home which is related to their job and where an annexe is used either by the occupier of the main dwelling or is occupied by people related to the person liable to pay council tax at the main dwelling. You can apply on line at www.telford.gov.uk or call our Customer Contact Centre on 01952 383838.

Please note that the full qualifying criteria is not included in the list above, so you should contact the Council for more advice if you think you may be entitled to one of the discounts. 

13

Exempt PropertiesYou do not have to pay council tax on some types of property. These are known as “exempt properties” and include both occupied and unoccupied properties.    Unoccupied properties may be exempt if the property is:

n an unoccupied annex – such as a granny flat

n left unoccupied by the owner who is a student

n left empty by someone who has moved to receive personal care in a hospital, a home or elsewhere

n left empty by someone who has moved in order to provide personal care to another person

n left unoccupied and has been repossessed

n left empty by someone who has gone into prison

n awaiting probate or letters of administration to be granted – in this case the exemption will apply for up to six months after the award of probate or letters of administration

n owned by a charity – this exemption will be for a maximum of six months

n awaiting occupation by a minister of religion

n the responsibility of a bankrupt’s trustee

n empty due to occupation being forbidden by law

n an unused caravan pitch or boat mooring 

Occupied properties may be exempt if the property is occupied:

n only by persons aged under 18 years

n only by full time students or school leavers

n only by persons who are severely mentally impaired

n as forces barracks or married quarters

n by members of a visiting force

n by a person with diplomatic privileges or immunity

n by elderly or disabled relatives (specifically annexes) 

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If you would like to apply for one of the exemptions listed, please call our Customer Contact Centre on 01952 383838. More information and a form is available at www.telford.gov.uk/counciltax Please note that the full qualifying criteria is not included in the list above, so you should contact the Council for more advice if you think you may be entitled to one of the exemptions. If you are receiving a council tax discount and there is a change in your circumstances, you must notify the Council within 21 days. Failure to do so may result in a £70 penalty. You may also receive a fine of up to £1,000 or be prosecuted if we find that you deliberately failed to tell us of something which affects your entitlement to a discount or reduction.

Housing Benefit & Council Tax Support 

Housing Benefit is a rebate designed to help people who have a low income, including those in low-paid work, meet the cost of any rent they may have to pay. Council Tax Support is calculated in a similar way and provides a discount against the council tax charge for people who have a low income. You may qualify for Council Tax Support even if you own the home you live in. The amount of rebate or discount you can receive will depend on the personal circumstances of you and the members of your household. Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support can be claimed by calling us on 01952 383838.

 Your Duty to Notify Changes in CircumstancesIf your circumstances change or you are a landlord and know of any changes in your tenant’s circumstances, you must tell us immediately. It is a criminal offence for a person, dishonestly or without reasonable excuse, to fail to notify the Council of a change in circumstances, which they are required to report.   

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Ways to pay

12 Monthly InstalmentsIt is possible for you to pay your council tax in instalments up to the end of March 2016. If you wish to spread your payments in this way, please call us on 01952 383838. If you apply after this date we will still extend your payments until March, but you may not receive 12 instalments.

Pay the easy way and sign up for Direct Debit. We have a number of dates to choose from throughout the month to suit you.

Do it today - call our Customer Contact Centre on 01952 383838

Payment DifficultiesIf you are experiencing difficulty in paying your council tax, contact us on 01952 383838 as soon as possible. Don’t leave it until court action has been taken as this will result in you paying additional costs. We may be able to agree an alternative payment arrangement with you and avoid formal recovery action.

Independent Advice and SupportIf you are worried about debt, are having difficulty paying your bills or just need some advice and support, there are a number of organisations who offer free and impartial advice:

n Citizens Advice Bureau – 0845 146 1554

n StepChange Debt Charity – 0800 138 1111

n National Debt Line – 0808 808 4000

n Civil Legal Advice – 0345 454 4345

n Debt Support Trust – 0800 085 0226

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Coming soon....Your new online account and e-billFrom Summer 2015 you will be able to access a wealth of information related to your council tax through our website telford.gov.uk

At a click of a mouse you will be able to access the following:

n View your payment history

n View future payments you are due to make

n View a summary of your account and payments

n View copies of all documents we have sent to you

n Receive your bill electronically 

Contact usemail: enquiries@telford.gov.uk web: www.telford.gov.uk

Text relay Telephone interpretation

How we use your information – Fair Processing Notice

Your personal information will be held and used in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and relevant legislation.

The Council will use the information you have provided in connection with the administration of council tax. We may lawfully disclose information to other public sector agencies to:n prevent or detect benefit fraud and any other crimen support national fraud initiatives - we are required by law to participate in National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching

exercises. Council tax information may be provided to the Audit Commission for NFI purposes and will be used for cross-system and cross-authority comparison for the prevention and detection of fraud to otherwise protect public funds

We also use council tax information about you in other areas of service provision if this:n helps you to access our services more easilyn promotes the more efficient and cost effective delivery of servicesn helps us to recover money that you owe to us You are able to see a copy of the information held about you.

For further information please ask for a copy of the Council’s data protection leaflet or visit the Council’s website at www.telford.gov.uk