Where Council Tax is rising and falling in 2013/14

With the 2013/14 tax year nearly upon us, we look at which councils are increasing or cutting Council Tax the most.

The new tax year is nearly upon us. And while there’s good news in the form of the increased Income Tax personal allowance, there’s also the small matter of changes to Council Tax to consider.

According to the Government, many of us won’t see much change. The Government has set aside £450 million, payable over the next two years, to help councils cope with freezing council tax in 2013/14.

Not every council has taken them up on that offer, but it does mean that the average Band D Council Tax level for the coming tax year has increased by 0.8% (which the Government is pitching as the equivalent of a real-terms cut, thanks to inflation).

However, when you look at each individual council’s actions, the number of councils actually freezing council tax in cash terms are minimal. The vast majority are imposing increases.

English councils that have cut Council Tax

Let’s start by taking a look at the councils in England that have gone further and announced a cut in Council Tax for 2013/14 – in cash terms anyway.

Local authority	Band D 2012/13	Band D 2013/14	% change
Hammersmith & Fulham	£1,088	£1,061	-2.5%
Windsor & Maidenhead UA	£1,203	£1,182	-1.7%
Chorley	£1,515	£1,496	-1.3%
Ribble Valley	£1,479	£1,460	-1.3%
Hyndburn	£1,553	£1,534	-1.2%
Pendle	£1,577	£1,557	-1.2%
Rossendale	£1,578	£1,559	-1.2%
South Ribble	£1,537	£1,518	-1.2%
West Lancashire	£1,519	£1,500	-1.2%
Fylde	£1,533	£1,516	-1.1%
Wyre	£1,511	£1,494	-1.1%
Lancaster	£1,527	£1,512	-1%
Burnley	£1,581	£1,567	-0.9%
Preston	£1,594	£1,582	-0.8%
Shropshire UA	£1,500	£1,488	-0.8%
Hounslow	£1,397	£1,388	-0.7%
Westminster	£685	£681	-0.5%
Barking & Dagenham	£1,323	£1,319	-0.3%
Barnet	£1,420	£1,416	-0.3%
Bexley	£1,435	£1,432	-0.3%
Brent	£1,366	£1,362	-0.3%
Camden	£1,328	£1,325	-0.3%
Ealing	£1,367	£1,363	-0.3%
Enfield	£1,407	£1,403	-0.3%
Greenwich	£1,288	£1,284	-0.3%
Hackney	£1,305	£1,301	-0.3%
Hillingdon	£1,420	£1,416	-0.3%
Islington	£1,269	£1,265	-0.3%
Kensington & Chelsea	£1,089	£1,086	-0.3%
Lambeth	£1,232	£1,228	-0.3%
Merton	£1,413	£1,410	-0.3%
Newham	£1,252	£1,249	-0.3%
Redbridge	£1,402	£1,399	-0.3%
Southwark	£1,219	£1,215	-0.3%
Sutton	£1,448	£1,444	-0.3%
Tower Hamlets	£1,192	£1,189	-0.3%
Waltham Forest	£1,459	£1,455	-0.3%
Haringey	£1,491	£1,487	-0.2%
Richmond upon Thames	£1,594	£1,590	-0.2%
Newcastle-under-Lyme	£1,459	£1,458	-0.1%
South Staffordshire	£1,419	£1,417	-0.1%
St Helens	£1,396	£1,395	-0.1%
Stafford	£1,440	£1,439	-0.1%

Source: Communities.gov.uk

None of these cuts actually amounts to an above-inflation cut. Indeed, the vast majority of them are very modest at only a couple of pounds.

English councils that have raised Council Tax

There are simply too many councils raising Council Tax in cash terms to cover here. So instead I’ve just featured the councils imposing rises of at least 2%.

Local authority	Band D 2012/13	Band D 2013/14	% change
Manchester	£1,327	£1,379	3.9%
Bury	£1,457	£1,511	3.7%
Oldham	£1,547	£1,604	3.7%
Rochdale	£1,482	£1,537	3.7%
Tameside	£1,366	£1,417	3.7%
Bolton	£1,414	£1,464	3.6%
South Cambridgeshire	£1,494	£1,536	2.8%
Stockport	£1,560	£1,604	2.8%
Bradford	£1,283	£1,318	2.7%
Wakefield	£1,308	£1,341	2.6%
Calderdale	£1,417	£1,452	2.5%
East Cambridgeshire	£1,504	£1,542	2.5%
Huntingdonshire	£1,519	£1,558	2.5%
Kirklees	£1,405	£1,440	2.5%
Wigan	£1,369	£1,403	2.4%
Fenland	£1,580	£1,617	2.3%
Slough UA	£1,368	£1,399	2.3%
West Berkshire UA	£1,503	£1,538	2.3%
West Oxfordshire	£1,457	£1,491	2.3%
Cambridge	£1,417	£1,452	2.2%
Reading UA	£1,499	£1,531	2.2%
Redcar & Cleveland UA	£1,610	£1,644	2.2%
Walsall	£1,532	£1,566	2.2%
Wokingham UA	£1,462	£1,494	2.2%
Runnymede	£1,490	£1,522	2.1%
Elmbridge	£1,553	£1,584	2%
Epsom & Ewell	£1,520	£1,551	2%
Guildford	£1,519	£1,550	2%
Leicester City UA	£1,455	£1,484	2%
Luton UA	£1,418	£1,446	2%
Middlesbrough UA	£1,566	£1,597	2%
Mole Valley	£1,509	£1,539	2%
Oxford	£1,583	£1,614	2%
Plymouth UA	£1,478	£1,508	2%
Portsmouth UA	£1,357	£1,384	2%
Reigate & Banstead	£1,552	£1,583	2%
Southampton UA	£1,447	£1,475	2%
Southend-on-Sea UA	£1,324	£1,351	2%
Spelthorne	£1,525	£1,556	2%
Stockton-on-Tees UA	£1,535	£1,565	2%
Surrey Heath	£1,556	£1,587	2%
Thurrock UA	£1,306	£1,333	2%
Warrington UA	£1,375	£1,402	2%
Wirral	£1,471	£1,501	2%
Woking	£1,558	£1,589	2%

Source: Communities.gov.uk

So, some far more significant changes when it comes to Council Tax increases, with residents in Manchester, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Tameside and Bolton all needing to shell out around £50 extra next year.

Council tax in Wales

There has been something of a furore over Council Tax in Wales, with the Welsh Government accused of using the money set aside to pay for Council Tax freezes for other purposes.

Across the principality, Council Tax will rise by an average of 2.9%. Here’s the breakdown of the changes in each of the Unitary Authorities.

Local authority	Band D 2012/13	Band D 2013/14	% change
Vale of Glamorgan	£1,149	£1,206	5%
Isle of Anglesey	£1,140	£1,194	4.8%
Rhondda Cynon Taf	£1,340	£1,398	4.3%
Blaenau Gwent	£1,463	£1,526	4.3%
North Port Talbot	£1,416	£1,476	4.2%
Swansea	£1,170	£1,220	4.2%
Conwy	£1,130	£1,176	4.1%
Bridgend	£1,296	£1,347	3.9%
Merthyr Tydfil	£1,377	£1,427	3.7%
Gwynedd	£1,278	£1,323	3.6%
Newport	£1,023	£1,057	3.3%
Torfaen	£1,208	£1,246	3.2%
Pembrokeshire	£945	£974	3.2%
Carmarthenshire	£1,216	£1,254	3.1%
Ceredigion	£1,169	£1,205	3.1%
Flintshire	£1,184	£1,221	3.1%
Wrexham	£1,166	£1,200	3%
Powys	£1,168	£1,203	3%
Caerphilly	£1,100	£1,128	2.5%
Denbyshire	£1,306	£1,336	2.3%
Cardiff	£1,108	£1,120	1.1%
Monmouthshire	£1,229	£1,236	0.6%

Source: StatsWales

Council tax in Scotland

For the sixth straight year Council Tax has been frozen by all of Scotland’s local authorities.

Rates in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland doesn’t have Council Tax, instead using a system called rates. These consist of both regional and district rates. Regional rates are set by the Northern Ireland Assembly and account for just over half of a typical rates bill. District rates are fixed by each district council, and vary depending on whether the property is domestic or non-domestic.

Your total rate is calculated as follows: the regional rate and the district rate are added together, and then multiplied by the capital value of your property.

Regional rates are increasing by 2.7%, while the table below details the changes to district rates across the various districts. I’ve just looked at domestic rates here.

District council	2012/13 rate (pence)	2013/14 rate (pence)	% change
Strabane	0.3580	0.3715	3.77%
Castlereagh	0.2136	0.2198	2.90%
Lame	0.3694	0.3799	2.84%
Down	0.3423	0.3513	2.63%
Banbridge	0.3626	0.3706	2.21%
Cookstown	0.2797	0.2853	2%
Derry	0.4092	0.4173	1.98%
Lisburn	0.2592	0.2643	1.97%
Magherafelt	0.2641	0.2693	1.97%
Coleraine	0.3146	0.3206	1.91%
Carrickfergus	0.3810	0.3881	1.86%
Limavady	0.4050	0.4124	1.83%
Moyle	0.3832	0.3902	1.83%
Armagh	0.4052	0.4121	1.7%
Fermanagh	0.2501	0.2543	1.68%
Ballymena	0.3758	0.3820	1.65%
Craigavon	0.3846	0.3907	1.59%
Newtownabbey	0.3379	0.3423	1.30%
Newry & Moume	0.3261	0.3303	1.29%
North Down	0.2852	0.2880	0.98%
Omagh	0.3772	0.3809	0.98%
Ards	0.2746	0.2771	0.91%
Antrim	0.3672	0.3690	0.49%
Ballymoney	0.3525	0.3525	0%
Belfast	0.3094	0.3094	0%
Dungannon & South Tyrone	0.2852	0.2852	0%

Source: NIDirect

Where Council Tax is rising and falling in 2013/14

With the 2013/14 tax year nearly upon us, we look at which councils are increasing or cutting Council Tax the most.

English councils that have cut Council Tax

English councils that have raised Council Tax

Council tax in Wales

Council tax in Scotland

Rates in Northern Ireland

More on Council Tax

Council Tax Reduction schemes: what you need to know

Second home Council Tax discount to end in April

How to slash your Council tax bill

Council Tax rebanding: the risks

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