Your council tax contributes to the services we provide, and the services your district, borough or parish council provide as well as the police and fire and rescue.
Council tax is collected by the district or borough council. The money raised is spent by various bodies including the county, district, parish and town councils, to provide services to each local community.
You will usually receive your council tax bill in March or April of each year, if you’re 18 or over, and own or rent a home.
The adult social care precept
We provide adult social care services which help elderly people to live independently in their own homes, or in residential care. Adults with physical and learning disabilities are also supported and funded by adult social care.
We can do a social care assessment to decide what a person's care needs are, and what level of support from the council they are eligible for, depending on their savings and income.
The adult social care precept is a specific portion of council tax which is specifically set aside to support our adult social care services.
Why has the adult social care precept increased this year?
This year, the government has allowed councils to increase the amount of council tax that goes towards adult social care. This is called the adult social care precept. We have decided that an increase of 2% is needed in North Yorkshire, because, with an aging population, combined with financial pressures in all areas, it is important that we are able to support as many people as possible in our county.
The decision to raise the adult social care precept this year, was made following public consultation, at the 21st February 2018 County Council Meeting, of which detail can be found in the Executive Report to Council.
The adult social care precept is calculated as 2% of the total of the previous year's council tax which went to the county council.
The adult social care precept is calculated as a percentage of the total County Council portion of your council tax bill from the previous year, as illustrated in the example below for a band D property. It is then added to the previous year's adult social care precept amount.
| 2017-18 | |
|---|---|
| North Yorkshire County Council - Band D | £1,144.62 |
| Adult social care precept | £44.88 |
| North Yorkshire County Council total | £1,189.50 |
| 2018-19 | |
|---|---|
| North Yorkshire County Council - Band D | £1,180.18 |
| Adult social care precept | £68.67 |
| North Yorkshire County Council total | £1,248.85 |
The precept percentage increase above is calculated based upon the total North Yorkshire County Council charge in 2017-18 (i.e. £1,189.50) so: £1,189.50 x 2% = £23.79
£44.88 (2017-18 adult social care precept) + £23.79 (2018-19 increase in adult social care precept) = £68.67
How can I get help with my council tax?
In North Yorkshire, council tax is dealt with by your local district or borough council, including the parts of the council tax which are for North Yorkshire County Council services.
Your district or borough council handle account queries, annual notifications, appeals, backdated claims, band reductions, discounts, exemptions, overpayments, new benefit claims and benefit renewals. They also deal with any changes in personal or financial circumstances that may affect benefit claims, and discretionary housing payments. You can find out more information on the relevant website for your area.
How is my council tax calculated and spent?
We produce a summary leaflet (pdf / 207 KB) every year which explains how much council tax you will pay this year, and how council tax is calculated and spent. You can also find out information about council tax and our overall budgets below.
The total cost of all the services that we provide will be £1049,9m in 2018-19. Our services include:
- schools;
- children’s centres, prevention and SEND;
- children’s social care, adoption and fostering;
- adult social care services, adult education, youth services;
- libraries;
- roads and public rights of way;
- public transport and concessionary fares;
- street lighting;
- trading standards and consumer advice;
- registration of births, deaths and marriages;
- disposal and recycling of household waste;
- emergency planning; and
- heritage and countryside management.
All homes have a property band between A and H, which depends on the value of the property. The amount you pay depends on which band your home is in.
Which council tax band is my home in?
The table below shows the charge for North Yorkshire County Council services only, so this represents only part of your overall council tax bill. It is made up of two elements - basic council tax, and the additional 2% adult social care precept explained above.
| Council Tax 2018-19 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Band | Basic council tax excluding adult social care | Adult social care precept | Total for 2018-19 |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| A | 786.78 | 45.78 | 832.56 |
| B | 917.92 | 53.41 | 971.33 |
| C | 1049.05 | 61.04 | 1110.09 |
| D | 1180.18 | 68.67 | 1248.85 |
| E | 1442.44 | 83.93 | 1526.37 |
| F | 1704.70 | 99.19 | 1803.89 |
| G | 1966.97 | 114.45 | 2081.42 |
| H | 2360.36 | 137.34 | 2497.70 |
Contact your district or borough council for information about the full amount you will pay each year.
After service income, grants and use of reserves, totalling £688.4m, our net budget is £361.5m. General government funding, business rates and council tax from previous years will total £73.8m with contributions from our reserves of £6.3m. This leaves £287.7m to be met from council tax. This table explains how this is broken down.
| Last year 2017-18 Income | The County Council budget | Estimates 2018-19 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross cost £m | Income and grants £m | Net cost £m | Gross cost £m | Income and grants £m | Net cost £m | |
| 420.0 | 420.0 | 0.0 | Schools | 441.3 | 441.3 | 0.0 |
| 85.9 | 19.5 | 66.4 | Children and Young People | 95.5 | 26.0 | 69.5 |
| 93.5 | 26.8 | 66.7 | Business and Environmental Services | 107.2 | 32.2 | 75.0 |
| 233.1 | 88.2 | 144.9 | Health and Adult Services | 246.1 | 91.0 | 155.1 |
| 71.5 | 13.1 | 58.4 | Central Services (libraries, property, business support, finance, legal and democratic, information technology etc) | 71.7 | 16.5 | 55.2 |
| 25.2 | 0.1 | 25.1 | Capital financing charges | 23.7 | 0.0 | 23.7 |
| 69.9 | 70.2 | -0.3 | Other budgets | 64.4 | 75.1 | -10.7 |
| 999.1 | 637.9 | 361.2 | Total net expenditure | 1049.9 | 682.1 | 367.8 |
| -2.0 | Contribution from council reserves | -6.3 | ||||
| 359.2 | Net budget requirement | 361.5 | ||||
| -18.7 | less funding from: Business rates from district councils |
-18.9 | ||||
| -44.8 | Business rates from central government | -46.2 | ||||
| -19.1 | Government revenue support grant | -7.6 | ||||
| -2.1 | Council tax income from previous years | -1.1 | ||||
| -3.0 | Transitional grant | 0.0 | ||||
| 271.5 | Total council tax requirement | 287.7 | ||||
Funding from central government for local authorities to deliver their services has again been significantly reduced. We will continue to face difficult decisions about spending over the coming years. These are some of the reasons for changes in costs we are currently facing.
| Changes in costs | £m |
|---|---|
| Inflation and effect of the living wage increase Price rises and the impact of tax changes imposed by the government increase our costs. |
15.9 |
| Other additional spending Additional spending due to an increasing demand for services and to meet our polices and priorities |
15.8 |
| Savings and cost reductions To compensate for significant reductions in government funding, together with managing inflation, tax changes and other additional spending, a comprehensive package of savings and cost reductions is being implemented. |
-15.6 |
| Government grant funding changes This decrease in net spending results from government policy changes in the funding of certain services. Grants that we used to receive for these services have now been consolidated into the overall general funding provided to us by the government, or have been stopped completely. This has the result of reducing the amount of money available coming from grants that we can rely on this year. |
-9.5 |
| Contributions from county council reserves | -4.3 |
| Total net increase in spending | 2.3 |
We plan to spend £117.3m on capital projects during 2018/19. Capital spending comes from a separate 'pot', which is financed from a combination of grants and contributions, borrowing, revenue budgets and capital receipts from the sales of properties.
| Capital spending by service | £m |
|---|---|
| Children and Young People's Service | 43.8 |
| Business and Environmental Services | 69.6 |
| Health and Adult Services | 1.4 |
| Central Services | 2.5 |
| 117.3 |