Where Council Tax is rising and falling in 2015/16

We take a look at which councils are increasing, freezing or cutting Council Tax for 2015/16.

The new tax year is nearly upon us and that means a myriad of changes that will impact our finances.

These include adjustments to Council Tax charges (or rates if you're in Northern Ireland).

So we’ve taken a look at what councils across the UK have got planned for 2015/16 and whether you’ll be paying more, less or the same.

Council Tax in England

The Government has set aside £550 million to help councils in England cope with freezing Council Tax in 2014/15 as well as in 2015/16.

Not every council has taken up the offer though, which is why the average Band D Council Tax level for the coming tax year has increased by 1.1%. In cash terms that means the average bill for 2015/16 is now £1,484, £16 more than the current tax year.

In total 241 out of 421 authorities have opted to freeze Council Tax over 2015/16 and will receive a grant from the Government. That's 10 fewer than 2014/15.

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

So where in England is Council Tax going up, staying the same or going down?

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English councils that have frozen or cut Council Tax

Here are the councils in England that have announced a cut or freeze on Council Tax for 2015/16.

Local authority	Band D 2014/15	Band D 2015/16	% change
Windsor & Maidenhead	£1,166	£1,150	-1.39%
Hammersmith & Fulham	£1,034	£1,023	-1.10%
Westminster	£678	£674	-0.59%
Wandsworth	£687	£683	-0.58%
Redcar & Cleveland	£1,677	£1,668	-0.53%
Kensington & Chelsea	£1,082	£1,078	-0.37%
Tower Hamlets	£1,185	£1,181	-0.34%
Southwark	£1,211	£1,207	-0.33%
Newham	£1,245	£1,241	-0.32%
Greenwich	£1,280	£1,276	-0.31%
Hackney	£1,297	£1,293	-0.31%
Cotswold	£1,491	£1,486	-0.30%
Brent	£1,358	£1,354	-0.29%
Ealing	£1,359	£1,355	-0.29%
Lewisham	£1,359	£1,355	-0.29%
Merton	£1,406	£1,401	-0.29%
Hounslow	£1,379	£1,375	-0.29%
Redbridge	£1,395	£1,391	-0.29%
Enfield	£1,399	£1,395	-0.29%
Barnet	£1,401	£1,397	-0.29%
Hillingdon	£1,412	£1,408	-0.28%
Waltham Forest	£1,451	£1,447	-0.28%
Croydon	£1,470	£1,466	-0.27%
Haringey	£1,483	£1,479	-0.27%
Richmond-upon-Thames	£1,586	£1,582	-0.25%
Kingston-upon-Thames	£1,679	£1,675	-0.24%
Uttlesford	£1,514	£1,513	-0.04%
Bournemouth	£1,499	£1,499	0%
Wigan	£1,403	£1,403	0%
Bury	£1,514	£1,514	0%
Manchester	£1,382	£1,382	0%
Rochdale	£1,540	£1,540	0%
Salford	£1,536	£1,536	0%
Stockport	£1,607	£1,607	0%
Essex	£1,087	£1,087	0%
Gloucestershire	£1,091	£1,091	0%
Hampshire	£1,038	£1,038	0%
Norfolk	£1,145	£1,145	0%
Somerset	£1,027	£1,027	0%
Suffolk	£1,127	£1,127	0%
West Sussex	£1,162	£1,162	0%
Bolton	£1,492	£1,492	0%
Oldham	£1,607	£1,607	0%
Trafford	£1,316	£1,316	0%

Source: Department for Communities and Local Government

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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 1.96%.

Local authority	Band D 2014/15	Band D 2015/16	% change
Luton	£1,469	£1,514	3.06%
Copeland	£1,582	£1,630	3.05%
Cornwall	£1,512	£1,550	2.46%
Eden	£1,576	£1,614	2.38%
Isle of Wight Council	£1,513	£1,547	2.28%
Tunbridge Wells	£1,480	£1,513	2.19%
West Devon	£1,643	£1,678	2.12%
Blaby	£1,516	£1,548	2.10%
Allerdale	£1,580	£1,613	2.06%
Northumberland	£1,559	£1,591	2.06%
Durham	£1,641	£1,675	2.05%
Maidstone	£1,536	£1,568	2.05%
Guildford	£1,581	£1,613	2.04%
Herefordshire	£1,552	£1,584	2.04%
Burnley	£1,597	£1,630	2.03%
Daventry	£1,446	£1,475	2.01%
Wealden	£1,664	£1,698	2.01%
Preston	£1,612	£1,644	2.00%
Leeds	£1,349	£1,375	2.00%
Warrington	£1,427	£1,456	2.00%
Lancaster	£1,541	£1,571	2.00%
Kent	£1,069	£1,090	2.00%
Oxford	£1,208	£1,679	1.99%
Surrey	£1,196	£1,220	1.99%
Dorset	£1,192	£1,215	1.99%
St Helens	£1,422	£1,451	1.99%
Devon	£1,139	£1,161	1.99%
Exeter	£1,514	£1,544	1.99%
Epsom & Ewell	£1,581	£1,613	1.99%
East Devon	£1,542	£1,573	1.99%
Isles of Scilly	£1,217	£1,241	1.99%
Plymouth	£1,538	£1,568	1.99%
Leicester	£1,512	£1,542	1.99%
Nottinghamshire	£1,217	£1,241	1.99%
Oxfordshire	£1,208	£1,232	1.99%
Buckinghamshire	£1,094	£1,116	1.99%
North Yorkshire	£1,079	£1,100	1.99%
Walsall	£1,569	£1,600	1.99%
Cumbria	£1,162	£1,185	1.99%
Wolverhampton	£1,501	£1,531	1.99%
Leicestershire	£1,063	£1,084	1.99%
Lancashire	£1,108	£1,130	1.99%
Hertfordshire	£1,119	£1,141	1.99%
Cambridgeshire	£1,122	£1,144	1.99%
Derby	£1,099	£1,432	1.99%
Mole Valley	£1,569	£1,601	1.99%
Reigate & Banstead	£1,615	£1,647	1.99%
Runnymede	£1,549	£1,580	1.99%
Spelthorne	£1,586	£1,618	1.99%
Surrey Heath	£1,619	£1,651	1.99%
Birmingham	£1,294	£1,320	1.99%
Liverpool	£1,584	£1,616	1.99%
Brighton & Hove	£1,538	£1,569	1.99%
Medway	£1,382	£1,410	1.99%
Tonbridge & Malling	£1,509	£1,539	1.99%
Gravesham	£1,468	£1,497	1.99%
Canterbury	£1,480	£1,509	1.98%
North Kesteven	£1,473	£1,502	1.98%
Darlington	£1,494	£1,524	1.98%
Woking	£1,620	£1,652	1.98%
Derbyshire	£1,099	£1,120	1.98%
East Lindsey	£1,415	£1,443	1.98%
Rotherham	£1,497	£1,526	1.98%
Sefton	£1,530	£1,560	1.98%
Wychavon	£1,468	£1,497	1.97%
Kirklees	£1,443	£1,471	1.97%
Doncaster	£1,358	£1,384	1.97%
Pendle	£1,593	£1,624	1.96%
Sheffield	£1,497	£1,526	1.96%
Mid Devon	£1,602	£1,633	1.96%
Bristol	£1,629	£1,660	1.96%

Source: Department for Communities and Local Government

So, some far more significant changes when it comes to Council Tax increases, with residents in Luton and Copeland needing to shell out nearly £50 extra next year.

Council Tax in Wales

Across the Welsh principality, Council Tax will rise by an average of 4.06% for 2015/16, taking the average Band D bill from £1,276 to £1,328, an increase of £52.

Here’s the breakdown of the changes in each of the Unitary Authorities.

Local authority	Band D 2014/15	Band D 2015/16	% change
Cardiff	£1,166	£1,224	5.01%
Monmouthshire	£1,285	£1,349	4.98%
Bridgend	£1,413	£1,483	4.93%
Swansea	£1,280	£1,342	4.82%
Newport	£1,101	£1,154	4.81%
Conwy	£1,229	£1,286	4.68%
Merthyr Tydfil	£1,486	£1,554	4.56%
Torfaen	£1,294	£1,352	4.54%
Isle of Anglesey	£1,242	£1,296	4.33%
Gwynedd	£1,371	£1,430	4.33%
Neath Port Talbot	£1,542	£1,609	4.31%
Vale of Glamorgan	£1,261	£1,312	4.05%
Rhondda Cynon Taf	£1,461	£1,519	3.94%
Caerphilly	£1,169	£1,215	3.89%
Flintshire	£1,255	£1,301	3.68%
Ceredigion	£1,259	£1,300	3.26%
Carmarthenshire	£1,307	£1,348	3.11%
Wrexham	£1,238	£1,276	3.10%
Denbighshire	£1,380	£1,422	3.09%
Blaenau Gwent	£1,591	£1,635	2.74%
Powys	£1,255	£1,287	2.56%
Pembrokeshire	£1,005	£1,029	2.41%

Source: StatsWales

Council Tax in Scotland

For the eighth straight year Council Tax has been frozen by all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

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Rates in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland doesn’t have Council Tax, instead it uses a system called rates.

These consist of both regional and district rates and vary depending on whether the property is domestic or non-domestic.

Regional rates are set by the Northern Ireland Executive and account for just over half of a typical rates bill while district rates are fixed by each district council.

Your domestic rate is calculated as follows: domestic regional rate plus domestic district rate multiplied by the capital value of your property.

Domestic regional rates are increasing by 1.4% in 2015/16, rising from 0.3986p to 0.4042p.

The table below details the new domestic district rates. As local councils in Northern Ireland are being streamlined from 26 to 11 from 1st April 2015, the table reflects the changes to show how residents will be impacted.

District council before April 1st 2015	2014/15 rate (pence)	District council from April 1st 2015	2015/16 rate (pence)	% change
Fermanagh	0.2543	Fermanagh and Omagh	0.3238	27.33%
Castlereagh	0.2176	Lisburn and Castlereagh	0.2722	25.09%
Dungannon & South Tyrone	0.2542	Mid Ulster	0.3013	18.53%
Strabane	0.3808	Derry and Strabane	0.4332	13.76%
Magherafelt	0.2693	Mid Ulster	0.3013	11.88%
Coleraine	0.3206	Causeway Coast & Glens	0.3568	11.29%
Newry & Moume	0.3303	Newry, Mourne and Down	0.3528	6.81%
Ards	0.2796	North Down and Ards	0.2986	6.80%
Banbridge	0.3769	Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon	0.4	6.13%
Cookstown	0.2879	Mid Ulster	0.3013	4.65%
Craigavon	0.3907	Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon	0.4	2.38%
North Down	0.2923	North Down and Ards	0.2986	2.16%
Ballymena	0.3877	Mid and East Antrim	0.396	2.14%
Newtownabbey	0.3423	Antrim and Newtownabbey	0.3492	2.02%
Lisburn	0.2669	Lisburn and Castlereagh	0.2722	1.99%
Ballymoney	0.3516	Causeway Coast & Glens	0.3568	1.48%
Larne	0.3904	Mid and East Antrim	0.396	1.43%
Derry	0.4281	Derry and Strabane	0.4332	1.19%
Carrickfergus	0.3933	Mid and East Antrim	0.396	0.69%
Down	0.3513	Newry, Mourne and Down	0.3528	0.43%
Belfast	0.3094	Belfast	0.3094	0%
Armagh	0.4199	Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon	0.4	-4.74%
Antrim	0.3690	Antrim and Newtownabbey	0.3492	-5.37%
Moyle	0.3902	Causeway Coast & Glens	0.3568	-8.56%
Limavady	0.4124	Causeway Coast & Glens	0.3568	-13.48%
Omagh	0.3752	Fermanagh and Omagh	0.3238	-13.70%

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More on Council Tax:

Council Tax rebanding: the risks

How to slash your Council tax bill

Council Tax Reduction schemes: what you need to know