In the coming weeks, Council tax invoices will be dropping onto doormats as the budget for 2023/24 has recently been agreed. Gloucester City Council is the collecting authority so collects the entire amount and distributes it to the other authorities, namely County Council, Police and Crime Commissioner and, for those living in the area, Quedgeley Town Council.

The total amount collected varies according to the Council tax band attached to the property. For the purposes of this article, examples are demonstrated as a percentage of the total collected. Since the majority of households in Gloucester are not within the area of Quedgeley Town Council, I have excluded that precept.

The County Council is the largest authority with many big items of expenditure, including social care, education, transport and highways. Of the total collected, 74.49% goes to the County Council. The Police and Crime Commissioner gets 14.37%, whilst the City Council gets 11.14%.

The Council provides a wide variety of services

In 2022/23, a Band D householder paid nearly £1,950 per annum, of which less than £217 comes to the City Council, which equates to less than 60 pence per day. The Council provides many services including waste, recycling, parks, planning, licensing, housing, environmental health, elections and much more.

The Council also earns money from sources including property, business rates, car parking, planning and licensing fees, and government grants. In the coming year, the total to be collected from all sources is roughly £15 million, which has to be carefully allocated to support the services provided by the Council.

Worryingly, the Council is also affected by inflationary pressures. What cost £15 million this year could cost up to £16.5 million next, if the Council’s finances are affected at the present inflation rate of 10%. On the other hand, the allowable Council tax increase of 2.99%, plus additional government grants and increases in fees, charges and rents, may only allow for a collection increase of 5%, which means that the £15 million this year will rise to £15.75 million next year, leaving a gap of £750,000.

The political debate is always about how to bridge that gap, which is why it is so important for residents to feed back their priorities through the consultations offered.