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Understanding your council tax bill

The amount of council tax you pay in 2023/24 will depend on:

  • The council tax band for your property
  • Whether you are entitled to any discounts, exemptions or relief on the full bill

Your council tax helps to fund local services, such as social care for vulnerable people and support for children, young adults and elderly people. It also pays for waste and recycling, schools, libraries, leisure centres, street cleaning and much more.

The amount you have to pay depends on which of the eight council tax bands your home is in.

A Government body called the Valuation Office Agency decides which band your property is in. Your bill tells you which band you’re in.

You may have to pay the full amount or you may be entitled to a discount. For example, if you live on your own or you are on a low income and qualify for Council Tax Support.

Example breakdown for council tax band D for 2023/24:

  • North Northamptonshire Council and adult social care: £1,657.51
  • Police: £293.04
  • Fire: £73.20
  • Total: £2,023.75

Please note, band D is the amount for the average council tax payer. Town and Parish Councils may levy a separate amount called a precept that may form part of your council tax bill.

Working out the increase

We have increased council tax for 2023/24 by 4.99%.        

This is an increase of 2.99% on the standard charge and a 2.0% increase on the Adult Social Care (ASC) precept which is used to help fund the rising cost of social care services for older and disabled adults.        

The standard charge and the ASC precept make up the total council charge. It is this overall charge that is used to work out the increases for 2023/24.        

Calculation

  1. The total charge for 2022/23 in a Band D property was £1,578.73. This was made up of:
            
    • Standard charge = £1,405.16
    • Adult Social Care precept = £173.57
       
  2. We multiply the total council charge from 2022/23 by 2.99% (Standard Charge increase) = £47.21
     
  3. We then add that to the 2022/23 standard charge to get the 2023/24 charge = £1,452.37
     
  4. We multiply the total council charge 2022/23 by 2% (ASC precept increase) = £31.57
     
  5. We then add this to the 2022/23 Adult Social Care precept to get the 2023/24 charge = £205.14     
       
  6. The total council charge for 2023/24 is calculated by adding step 3 and 5 together = £1,657.51

How our spending and expenditure breaks down in 2023/24.

Our income in 2023/24

Similar to other councils, we receive funding for services from a few key sources.  These are our main sources of income:

  • Council tax: 56.9%, £191.39 million
  • Business rates: 28.1%, £94.62 million
  • Grants and other external funding: 13.1%, £44.23 million
  • Use of reserves: 1.9%, £6.35 million
  • Total resources: £336.59 million

Our expenditure in 2023/24

Your council tax helps to fund local services, such as social care for vulnerable people and support for children, young adults and elderly people. It also pays for waste and recycling, schools, libraries, leisure centres, street cleaning, parks and much more:

  • Adult social care services: 36.3%, £122.1 million
  • Children’s services such as schools: 20.7%, £69.53 million
  • Highways and waste management: 18.4%, £62.07 million
  • Enabling services including customer services, revenues and benefits and support services: 10.7%, £36.1 million
  • Corporate core including borrowing costs, contingency and resources to be allocated: 8.9%, £29.82 million
  • Housing, communities, culture and leisure: 3.1%, £10.54 million
  • Growth and regeneration: 1.2%, £3.93 million
  • Regulatory services including Trading Standards, environmental health and building control: 0.7%, £2.5 million
  • Total expenditure: £336.59 million

Those councils responsible for providing Adult Social Care, like North Northamptonshire Council, are allowed to increase their Council Tax by up to 5%.

The part of the bill that relates to Adult Social Care services has been increased by 2%.

Adult Social Care services support some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, largely those in old age and adults with disabilities.

The government introduced legislation and guidance setting out how Adult Social Care costs are calculated and shown on Council Tax bills. This guidance has been followed when producing the Council Tax bills for 2023/24.

Parish councils are able to increase their Council Tax requirements to whatever they feel is needed to run the services they deliver.

Unlike larger authorities, they have no caps on what they can increase their demand by. For more information on your Parish Council's budget and plans, please visit their own respective websites or contact them directly.

The figures relating to general expenditure and Adult Social Care are each accompanied by a percentage increase figure shown on your council tax bill.

The percentages show how each part contributes to the overall increase set by North Northamptonshire Council.

North Northamptonshire Council has chosen to increase the part of the council tax bill relating to general council expenditure by 2.99%. Please note that this is shown as 3% on your bill (the system is restricted to printing to one decimal place).

The percentage increase for North Northamptonshire Council (excluding police, fire services and parish and town councils) is calculated on the combined total of the council’s general expenditure and Adult Social Care charges from last year’s bill.

The percentage increase for Adult Social Care is calculated on the combined total of the North Northamptonshire Council and Adult Social Care charges from last year’s bill. The increase is 2% as shown on your bill.

Last updated 20 March 2023