Posted: Thu 26th Mar 2015

Council Tax in Wales on average £156 lower than England despite greater increases this year.

News and Info from Deeside, Flintshire, North Wales
This article is old - Published: Thursday, Mar 26th, 2015

Figures released today by The Welsh Government show the average band D council tax for Wales in 2015-16 will be £1,328, compared to an average of £1,484 in England.

However, Welsh tax payers will still pay an extra £52 on average from April for band D council tax, an increase of 4.1%.

Residents in a band D property in Flintshire will pay below average at £1,301. Figures for billing authorities in Wales, including police elements, vary from £1,029 in Pembrokeshire to £1, 635 in Blaenau Gwent.

In England, around 53% of authorities are expecting to freeze council tax in 2015-16 in exchange for additional funding from Central Government.

The estimated band D percentage increase for English authorities is just 1.1%.

Band D has historically been used as the standard for comparing council tax levels between and across local authorities.

In Flintshire the average band D council tax bill will be £1301 for 2015-16 around £183 less than the English average, yet £25 more than neighbouring Cheshire West and Chester Council who froze their band D council tax in 2014 for two years.

County council increases in band D council tax for 2015-16 average £47 and police increases average £5, producing an average band D rise of £52.

Flintshire’s increase is below this at £46, while the highest in Wales is a whopping £70 in Bridgend and the lowest is Pembrokeshire again at £24.

Band D council tax break downs as £1025 for Flintshire County Council, £235 for North Wales Police authority, and £40 for the community council.

Breakdown of band D council tax in Wales, 2015-16

Screenshot from 2015-03-26 14:16:52

In cash terms the average Band D council tax increase in Flintshire of £46 for 2015-16 is £6 lower than the Wales average, the fifth lowest in the whole of Wales.

Increases in average band D council tax

Screenshot from 2015-03-26 14:24:16

Council tax is rising faster in Wales, from 2009-10 to 2015-16 figures show a higher increase in Wales than in England where central government have funded council tax freezes for many of the English authorities.

Year-on-year increase in band D council tax England versus Wales

Screenshot from 2015-03-26 14:34:02

Public Services Minister, Leighton Andrews said:

“We have protected local government in Wales from the worst of the Westminster Government’s cuts for the past 5 years.

“Despite the pressure on council services, Council Tax in Wales is still on average £156 per year lower than in England.”

Assembly Member for Alyn and Deeside Carl Sargeant said:

“For the past five years the Welsh Labour Government has protected local government in Wales from the worst of the Westminster Government’s cuts.

“Despite the pressure on council services, council tax in Flintshire is still £27 cheaper than the Welsh average, and a substantial £183 per year lower than the English average. Flintshire County Council and the community councils are to be commended on this and I’m sure that Alyn and Deeside constituents appreciate the efforts being made to keep their council tax bills as low as possible.”

 

 

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