Annual Council Tax Moan

42 said:
It's because of the way it's calculated. Higher portion of lower band houses means less income so rates are higher.
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Nonsense. The only element that changes depending on where live within County Durham is your Parish/Town Council charge. People within Peterlee get absolutely crucified by their Town Council.
Dan..Dan..Dan..Dan said:
Nonsense. The only element that changes depending on where live within County Durham is your Parish/Town Council charge. People within Peterlee get absolutely crucified by their Town Council.
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Last years.....

Last year's Council Tax and business rates information - Durham County Council

This page contains Council Tax and business rates information from the previous year.
www.durham.gov.uk www.durham.gov.uk
Dan..Dan..Dan..Dan said:
Nonsense. The only element that changes depending on where live within County Durham is your Parish/Town Council charge. People within Peterlee get absolutely crucified by their Town Council.

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This years... https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/441...ouncilTaxInfo2024-25.pdf?m=638454057740570000
 
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Lefty Frizzell said:
Has that 60/70% mark moved much in the last 20yrs or so? Or has this always been the majority of spend?

What has been the biggest increase that has arisen in that period that has put a big strain on councils?

Only asking as it sounds like you know your onions on this.
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Massive increase. The council I work for children’s social care costs have risen 70% or so in 5 years. It’s just not manageable.
Adults social care big increases as well, but the government to be fair have put a lot of extra money in on that side.
The reduced government funding, particularly 2010-15 took out capacity and now with the increased pressures many can’t survive despite better funding settlements in the last few years. The funding system is unequal so some councils are better funded than others - the government did start a “fair funding” review in 2016, but Brexit and then covid stopped that.
Despite people’s grumbles, local government is pretty efficient (always room for improvement) and in my experience way more efficient than any other public sector.
 
Dan..Dan..Dan..Dan said:
Nonsense. The only element that changes depending on where live within County Durham is your Parish/Town Council charge. People within Peterlee get absolutely crucified by their Town Council.

Last years.....

Last year's Council Tax and business rates information - Durham County Council

This page contains Council Tax and business rates information from the previous year.
www.durham.gov.uk www.durham.gov.uk

This years... https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/441...ouncilTaxInfo2024-25.pdf?m=638454057740570000
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Your kind of agreeing with me tbf
 
42 said:
Your kind of agreeing with me tbf
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Not really. If Peterlee Town Council chose not to spend so much money, the charge for residents in their 'area' would drop. Quite what Peterlee residents get for their money is a mystery to me but as I don't live there, I'm not hugely bothered. I suspect their spending commitments are historical. It would be interesting if the good people held them to account and made them justify their spending. The relative socio-economic status of that area is by and large irrelevant.
 
Dan..Dan..Dan..Dan said:
Not really. If Peterlee Town Council chose not to spend so much money, the charge for residents in their 'area' would drop. Quite what Peterlee residents get for their money is a mystery to me but as I don't live there, I'm not hugely bothered. I suspect their spending commitments are historical. It would be interesting if the good people held them to account and made them justify their spending. The relative socio-economic status of that area is by and large irrelevant.
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If peterlee had a higher council tax base, the precepts would be lower. That is a fact.
 
42 said:
If peterlee had a higher council tax base, the precepts would be lower. That is a fact.
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Nope. It doesn't work like that. It is, for want of a better phrase, evened out over the whole of the county. The activities of the Town Council dictate how much their precept is. Without precepts, the Council Tax for every band A property ( and all other bands) would be identical. I'm not sure whether the City of Durham still have a separate charge still. If PTC chose not to have carnivals or promote arts/activities etc of their own, their precept would be lower.
 
Dan..Dan..Dan..Dan said:
Nope. It doesn't work like that. It is, for want of a better phrase, evened out over the whole of the county. The activities of the Town Council dictate how much their precept is. Without precepts, the Council Tax for every band A property ( and all other bands) would be identical. I'm not sure whether the City of Durham still have a separate charge still. If PTC chose not to have carnivals or promote arts/activities etc of their own, their precept would be lower.
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Let's say 2 councils have the same amount population & same amount that they need to raise from council tax. The area with the higher band housing will have lower rates. Because of the way it's calculated
 
FatCat2402 said:
f***ing hell. Don't come on here talking sense. I tried to explain this to a muppet a couple of weeks back and his response was simply that Councils shouldn't need to prioritise what services they provide. He wasn't interested in trying to understand or learn about how Councils are funded and how they've been fucked over by the Tories for years.

I suspect his brains were made of trifle.
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Bet he voted independent. See a lot of this from some independent supporters.
 
safcsafc said:
I’ll pass that NI reduction straight to DCC then.
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You'll pay more of it to private industry.
Bloke next door said:
Massive increase. The council I work for children’s social care costs have risen 70% or so in 5 years. It’s just not manageable.
Adults social care big increases as well, but the government to be fair have put a lot of extra money in on that side.
The reduced government funding, particularly 2010-15 took out capacity and now with the increased pressures many can’t survive despite better funding settlements in the last few years. The funding system is unequal so some councils are better funded than others - the government did start a “fair funding” review in 2016, but Brexit and then covid stopped that.
Despite people’s grumbles, local government is pretty efficient (always room for improvement) and in my experience way more efficient than any other public sector.
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The poster you replied to is a dickhead.
 
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42 said:
Let's say 2 councils have the same amount population & same amount that they need to raise from council tax. The area with the higher band housing will have lower rates. Because of the way it's calculated
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Regardless of whether the above is correct or not, the point I was originally responding to was why Horden had the highest Council Tax in County Durham. It isn't quite, Peterlee's is a touch higher but they both have a very high parish precept. It's that simple.

I've worked in local government since Council Tax was introduced, mainly in audit and finance.
 
FatCat2402 said:
Town Council and parish precepts should be fucked off. Totally unnecessary layer of local Government.

I'd fuck off all the back office services in the local 7 councils when this devolved shit gets going and move them all to be run by the devolved Council.

Massive efficiencies. Why do all the Councils need an individual payroll service, ICT service, Council Tax and Benefits, HR etc.
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They don't. Stockton and Darlington have one that serves both councils.
 
daveyc said:
They don't. Stockton and Darlington have one that serves both councils.
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And they've got nothing to do with the North East Combined Authority.
S.S.R.. said:
Why should you have to pay more money for services because your house happens to be nicer? It's utter bollocks. Do you pay higher income tax because your wife has big tits?
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Because chances are her tits and probably arse and lips are made of plastic suggesting a greater disposal income.

On a more serious note, there'd been a property tax for hundreds of years, until the introduction of Community charge in 1990 and that caused such chaos that it was necessary to revert back to property taxation.
 
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FatCat2402 said:
And they've got nothing to do with the North East Combined Authority.

Because chances are her tits and probably arse and lips are made of plastic suggesting a greater disposal income.

On a more serious note, there'd been a property tax for hundreds of years, until the introduction of Community charge in 1990 and that caused such chaos that it was necessary to revert back to property taxation.
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Another option is a local income tax but that has a lot of practical problems too. A young working couple in a small flat would pay more than an independently wealthy person with a big house or second home owners who don't live there. It would also mean that richer areas with a lot of high paid jobs could afford to set a lower tax rate than poorer parts of the country.
 
S.S.R.. said:
Why should you have to pay more money for services because your house happens to be nicer? It's utter bollocks. Do you pay higher income tax because your wife has big tits?
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Not entirely true, a Westminster resident in a £10m house pays less than a resident of County Durham in a £0.1m house.
 
Qwerty said:
One lad thought I paid nowt towards my pension, when I said I paid in 9% his face dropped. He's now stopped complaining about pensions.

You can't spend ya house money when you're alive though.

Consett Band B breakdown
DCC. £1282.70
Adult social care. £221.67
Fire and Rescue. £91.87
Police and Crime. £208.63

Total. £1804.87

Anyone post a Horden band B breakdown for comparison?
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Horden B is £2095.84
 

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