Agenda item

Further to Minute 82 of the Cabinet, the Council considered a report of the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer) which calculated the Council Tax level for 2022/23 and made appropriate recommendations to Council, consistent with the Budget Report 2022/23. 

The report indicated that some of the figures and information set out within the report were identified as provisional, as the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Fire and Rescue Authority precepts had not been confirmed at the time of publication.  Confirmation had now been received in relation to these precepts and that the figures within the report were all confirmed as accurate.

The report incorporated the impact of the Council’s gross expenditure and the level of income it would receive through Business Rates, grants, fees and charges.  This resulted in a Council Tax requirement, as the amount that its expenditure exceeds all other sources of income.

The report included a calculation of the Band D Council Tax that would be needed to generate this Council Tax requirement, based on the City’s approved Council Tax base.  The 2022/23 Band D Council Tax that was calculated through this process had increased by £52.06 from the 2021/22 level.

Each year the Government determined the maximum Council Tax increase that local authorities could set without triggering a referendum.  For 2022/23 the Secretary of State had published a report which proposed that the rise in Coventry City Council’s Council Tax must be below 3% in 2022/23 to avoid triggering a referendum, comprising a 1% precept for expenditure on adult social care and a maximum of 2% for other expenditure.  At the time of writing, the Secretary of State’s report was subject to parliamentary approval.  The recommendations within the Budget Report 2022/23 were based on a proposed increase in Council Tax of 2.9%, including a core Council Tax rise of 1.9% and a 1% Adult Social Care Precept.

The recommendations followed the structure of resolutions drawn up by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, to ensure that legal requirements were fully adhered to in setting the tax.  Consequently, the wording of the proposed resolutions was necessarily complex.

RESOLVED that the City Council:

1.  Note the following Council Tax base amounts for the year 2022/23, as approved by the Cabinet on 11^th January 2022, in accordance with Regulations made under Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (“the Act”):

(a)  84,264.3 being the amount calculated by the Council as its Council Tax base for the year for the whole Council area;

(b)  Allesley  356.9

Finham  1,524.6

Keresley  237.0

being the amounts calculated by the Council as its Council Tax base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

2.  That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2022/23 in accordance with Sections 31A, 31B and 34 to 36 of the Act:

(a)  £748,832,629  being the aggregate of the amounts that the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils (Gross Expenditure and reserves required to be raised for estimated future expenditure);

(b)  £595,438,188  being the aggregate of the amounts that the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act (Gross Income including reserves to be used to meet the Gross Expenditure but excluding Council Tax income);

(c)  £153,394,441  being the amount by which the aggregate at 2(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 2(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its Council Tax requirement for the year;

(d)  £1,820.40  2(c)  =  £153,394,441

  1(a)  84,264.3

  being the amount at 2(c) above divided by the amount at 1(a) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year. (Average Council Tax at Band D for the City including Parish Precepts).

(e)  £43,527  being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act. (Parish Precepts);

(f)  £1,819.88  = 2(d) – 2(e)  =   £1,820.40 -  £43,527

    1(a)      84,264.3

  being the amount at 2(d) above, less the result given by dividing the amount at 2(e) above by the amounts at 1(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of the area to which no special item relates.  (Council Tax at Band D for the City excluding Parish Precepts);

(g)   

  being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 2(f) above, the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council’s area mentioned above divided in each case by the amount at 1(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year of dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate (Council Taxes at Band D for the City and Parish).

(h)   

  being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 2(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation Band D calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

3.  Note that for the year 2022/23 the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands and the West Midlands Fire Authority have stated that the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Act, for each of the categories of dwelling shown below: 

4.  That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 2(h) and 3 above, the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Act hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2022/23 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwelling shown below:

5.  Determines that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2022/23 is not excessive in accordance with the principles set out in the Secretary of State’s report, under Sections 52ZC and 52ZD of the Act.

Note:  In accordance with the Constitution, a recorded vote was taken in respect of the above Recommendations.

The Councillors voting For and Against the Recommendations were as follows:

Result: Carried

For: 29

Against: 14

Abstain: 0