Council tax guide 2011-2012

City | Coast | Countryside

About your Council Tax

2011-12

This leaflet forms part of your Council Tax Bill

...Making Every Penny Count

2

Lancaster City Council – making every penny count Dear resident, Lancaster City Council, and the public sector as a whole, faces a series of enormous challenges.

The Government has said that its priority is to reduce the public deficit and, as a result, has reduced the amount of money it provides through grants to Local Authorities.

More than 60% of Lancaster City Council’s budget is funded by Government grants so the reduction in grants of £2 million we are to receive over the next couple of years will continue to have serious effects on our budget and therefore the range of services provided. The Government has, however, provided the council with a grant equal to a 2.5% increase in Council Tax if the council agrees not to increase Council Tax this year.

Lancaster City Council has agreed to do this.

Our challenge is to ensure that the council is able to continue to deliver its priorities, whilst responding to the financial constraints that lay ahead.

The council’s priorities are: * Economic Regeneration – Energy Coast,Visitor Economy and Housing Regeneration * Prioritising reducing the council’s energy costs and increasing income in terms of Climate Change * Fulfilling at least our minimum statutory duties with particular focus on keeping the streets clean and safe * Partnership working and Community Leadership – working with partners to reduce costs, make efficiencies and create resilience within the district The intention to protect the most vulnerable in our society will be a thread that runs through all the above priorities.

We are currently reviewing everything that the council does and changes are already underway as we continue to improve efficiency, reduce lower priority services and provide good value for money services that are important to our communities.

This is why your opinions as We empty 1.6million household waste bins and 4.8million recycling boxes. to which council services are important to you, are equally as important to us in making these choices.

Thanks go to everyone who got involved and had their say in our 2011/12 budget consultation last October when we spoke to approximately 200 people during the three listening days, more than 40 people during budget forum discussions and received 551 responses to a questionnaire, which provided options for reducing statutory and discretionary council services.

A report on the 2011/12 budget consultation can be found online at www.lancaster.gov.uk/consultation.

In the coming pages you’ll read more about how the council’s budget and its portion of the Council Tax you pay will be spent.

I say ‘its portion’ because the city council does not keep all the money you pay in Council Tax. The majority is passed on to Lancashire County Council (73%) with the Police Authority receiving 10% and the Fire Authority 4%.

You can find out more about how much these authorities will be charging on page 3 of this booklet.

In real terms, households will continue to pay an average of £3.70 a week to the city council from April 2011.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Do you want to get involved and have your say on council services?

Sign up to the council’s community consultation register and get involved in future consultations.

You can do this by emailing consultation@lancaster.gov.uk, by phoning our Consultation and Engagement Officer 01524 582268 or by visiting www.lancaster.gov.uk/consultation

...Making Every Penny Count

3

Council Tax 2011/12 The following chart shows the average Band D Council Tax for each of the four charging organisations, together with the percentage increase from the previous year. In addition, some parish and town councils in the district have made charges (‘precepts’) for their own expenses. Details of these charges and the Council Tax payable for city, parish and town council purposes for different bands are set out on pages 4 and 5 of this booklet.

Change in spending between years Reasons for the net increase in the revenue budget are shown below. £ million Budget requirement 2010/11

24.740

Less change in Government funding

-1.103

Add net inflation

Lancaster City Council 13% (£192.25, 0%)

Concessionary Travel reduction

Fire 4% (£63.65, 0%)

Add net increase in services

Police 10% (£146.27, 0%)

Budget requirement 2011/12

0.308 -2.803 0.339 21.481

Lancaster County Council 73% (£1,108.30, 0%)

Where the money is spent The net weekly cost of your local services for a band D property is £3.70, and a breakdown is provided below.

Planned Spending 2011/12 The city council estimates that its gross revenue spending for 2011/12 will be £95.119 million. A total of £73.723 million will be generated through grants, rents, interest and fees and charges, leaving net spending of £21.481 million after the transfer to balances. The Government will provide revenue support of £3.100 million and business rates will generate £10.028 million, leaving £8.353 million to be raised through Council Tax after the use of Collection Fund balances.

2010/11 £m

2011/12 £m

Environmental

8.188

7.672

Highways, roads and transport

5.909

3.106

Planning and development

3.475

3.484

General fund housing services

0.259

0.270

Cultural and related services

6.215

6.772

Revenues and benefit services

51.361

52.792

Refuse collection, recycling and street cleansing

6.140

6.325

Other services and spending

16.069

14.698

Income

-72.946

-73.723

Total net spending on services

24.670

21.396

0.070

0.085

24.740

21.481

Amount per person

-2.076

-3.100

£22.14

-14.301

-10.028

£71.63

-8.344

-8.353

£59.67

Total balances Budget requirements Funded by: Revenue Support Grant National Non-Domestic Rates Council Tax Collection Fund balance Total funding

-0.019

0.000

£0.00

-24.740

-21.481

£153.44

Our award winning Visitor Information Centres at Lancaster and Morecambe dealt with over 130,000 enquiries in 2010.

...Making Every Penny Count

4

5

Band B £

Band C £

Band D £

Band E £

Band F £

Band G £

Band H £

Previous Year £

% Difference £

738.87 97.51 42.43 878.81 128.17

862.01 113.77 49.51 1,025.29 149.53

985.16 130.02 56.58 1,171.76 170.89

1,108.30 146.27 63.65 1,318.22 192.25

1,354.59 178.77 77.79 1,611.15 234.97

1,600.88 211.28 91.94 1,904.10 277.69

1,847.17 243.78 106.08 2,197.03 320.42

2,216.60 292.54 127.30 2,636.44 384.50

1,108.30 146.27 63.65 1,318.22 192.25

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Total

1,006.98

1,174.82

1,342.65

1,510.47

1,846.12

2,181.79

2,517.45

3,020.94

1,510.47

0.0%

Area

Band A £

Band B £

Band C £

Band D £

Band E £

Band F £

Band G £

Band H £

£

£

1,006.98 1,021.40 1,020.18 1,013.81 1,014.52 1,006.98 1,019.04 1,025.53 1,022.42 1,028.42 1,020.35 1,014.28 1,026.69 1,014.32 1,023.88 1,017.61 1,044.17 1,021.90 1,020.04 1,022.66 1,022.84 1,014.47 1,025.25 1,020.57 1,015.60 1,006.98 1,014.56 1,023.69 1,022.04 1,021.40 1,019.52 1,020.72 1,019.33 1,041.36 1,018.39 1,030.10 1,013.06 1,023.86

1,174.82 1,191.65 1,190.23 1,182.79 1,183.61 1,174.82 1,188.90 1,196.46 1,192.84 1,199.84 1,190.42 1,183.33 1,197.82 1,183.39 1,194.54 1,187.22 1,218.21 1,192.23 1,190.05 1,193.12 1,193.32 1,183.56 1,196.14 1,190.68 1,184.87 1,174.82 1,183.67 1,194.32 1,192.40 1,191.65 1,189.45 1,190.85 1,189.23 1,214.94 1,188.13 1,201.80 1,181.91 1,194.51

1,342.65 1,361.88 1,360.26 1,351.76 1,352.70 1,342.65 1,358.74 1,367.39 1,363.24 1,371.24 1,360.48 1,352.38 1,368.93 1,352.44 1,365.19 1,356.83 1,392.24 1,362.55 1,360.06 1,363.56 1,363.80 1,352.64 1,367.01 1,360.77 1,354.14 1,342.65 1,352.76 1,364.93 1,362.74 1,361.88 1,359.37 1,360.97 1,359.12 1,388.50 1,357.87 1,373.48 1,350.76 1,365.16

1,510.47 1,532.11 1,530.28 1,520.72 1,521.78 1,510.47 1,528.57 1,538.30 1,533.64 1,542.64 1,530.53 1,521.42 1,540.04 1,521.49 1,535.83 1,526.42 1,566.26 1,532.86 1,530.06 1,534.00 1,534.26 1,521.71 1,537.88 1,530.86 1,523.40 1,510.47 1,521.85 1,535.54 1,533.07 1,532.11 1,529.28 1,531.08 1,529.00 1,562.05 1,527.59 1,545.16 1,519.59 1,535.79

1,846.12 1,872.57 1,870.33 1,858.65 1,859.95 1,846.12 1,868.24 1,880.14 1,874.44 1,885.44 1,870.64 1,859.51 1,882.26 1,859.59 1,877.12 1,865.62 1,914.31 1,873.49 1,870.07 1,874.88 1,875.20 1,859.86 1,879.62 1,871.04 1,861.93 1,846.12 1,860.03 1,876.76 1,873.74 1,872.57 1,869.11 1,871.31 1,868.77 1,909.16 1,867.05 1,888.52 1,857.27 1,877.07

2,181.79 2,213.05 2,210.41 2,196.60 2,198.13 2,181.79 2,207.94 2,221.99 2,215.26 2,228.26 2,210.77 2,197.61 2,224.51 2,197.71 2,218.43 2,204.83 2,262.38 2,214.14 2,210.09 2,215.78 2,216.16 2,198.03 2,221.39 2,211.25 2,200.47 2,181.79 2,198.23 2,218.01 2,214.44 2,213.05 2,208.96 2,211.56 2,208.56 2,256.30 2,206.52 2,231.90 2,194.97 2,218.37

2,517.45 2,553.51 2,550.46 2,534.53 2,536.30 2,517.45 2,547.61 2,563.83 2,556.06 2,571.06 2,550.88 2,535.70 2,566.73 2,535.81 2,559.71 2,544.03 2,610.43 2,554.76 2,550.10 2,556.66 2,557.10 2,536.18 2,563.13 2,551.43 2,539.00 2,517.45 2,536.41 2,559.23 2,555.11 2,553.51 2,548.80 2,551.80 2,548.33 2,603.41 2,545.98 2,575.26 2,532.65 2,559.65

3,020.94 3,064.22 3,060.56 3,041.44 3,043.56 3,020.94 3,057.14 3,076.60 3,067.28 3,085.28 3,061.06 3,042.84 3,080.08 3,042.98 3,071.66 3,052.84 3,132.52 3,065.72 3,060.12 3,068.00 3,068.52 3,043.42 3,075.76 3,061.72 3,046.80 3,020.94 3,043.70 3,071.08 3,066.14 3,064.22 3,058.56 3,062.16 3,058.00 3,124.10 3,055.18 3,090.32 3,039.18 3,071.58

1,510.47 1,531.75 1,530.28 1,521.45 1,521.89 1,510.47 1,528.65 1,530.47 1,534.24 1,544.74 1,530.67 1,521.99 1,539.53 1,521.59 1,535.75 1,533.63 1,565.49 1,528.86 1,530.03 1,533.73 1,534.09 1,522.98 1,537.56 1,531.89 1,523.43 1,510.47 1,521.99 1,536.10 1,532.53 1,530.89 1,529.13 1,540.46 1,528.49 1,561.68 1,530.29 1,542.59 1,519.68 1,534.67

0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.5% 0.0% -0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% -0.5% 0.0% 0.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% -0.1% 0.0% -0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% -0.6% 0.0% 0.0% -0.2% 0.2% 0.0% 0.1%

Lancashire County Council Lancashire Police Authority Lancashire Fire Authority

Council Tax Charge Table

Lancaster City Council

Non Parished Area Arkholme-with-Cawood Bolton-le-Sands Borwick Burrow-with-Burrow Cantsfield Carnforth Caton-with-Littledale Claughton Cockerham Ellel Gressingham Halton-with-Aughton Heaton-with-Oxcliffe Hornby-with-Farleton Ireby and Leck Melling-with-Wrayton Middleton Morecambe Town Council Nether Kellet Over Kellet Over Wyresdale Overton Priest Hutton Quernmore Roeburndale Scotforth Silverdale Slyne-with-Hest Tatham Thurnham Tunstall Warton Wennington Whittington Wray-with-Botton Yealand Conyers Yealand Redmayne

Figures based on a Band D property

Band A £

We own and maintain 71 playgrounds, 15 football pitches and 7 parks including Williamson Park in Lancaster

Through grants we provide significant support to a range of arts, festivals and events in the district. In addition we fund and organise three major festivals and a programme of outdoor band concerts each year.

Lancaster City Council – making every penny count

6

About your Council Tax Council Tax is charged on most homes, whether rented or owned, lived in or not.There will be one bill per home, whether it is a house, bungalow, flat, maisonette, caravan or houseboat.

• Nobody can live in by law; or

Each home is placed in a valuation band, A-H, based on the amount it would have sold for on 1 April 1991.The Valuation Office Agency, not the council, allocates a valuation band to every home.The council uses the valuation banding to work out your Council Tax bill.

Discounts

You may be able to appeal against the valuation band if: • You have moved into the property in the last 6 months; or • There has been a change in the building, or the physical state of the local area, which could reduce the value of your dwelling.

For more information write to:The Listing Officer, Mitre House, Church Street, Lancaster LA1 1HG. Phone: (01524) 300100 or visit www.mycounciltax.gov.uk.

The law requires that you must continue to pay your Council Tax until a decision has been reached.

• A minister of religion is waiting to occupy.

Full Council Tax is payable where two or more adults live in a property. If you live alone, you will be entitled to a 25% single person discount. However, you may still be entitled to a discount if someone in your household is: • A student or student nurse; • An apprentice; • A youth training trainee;

We deal with around 2,000 requests for assistance with pest control problems each year.

• An 18 or 19-year old who is at or has just left school; • A long-term hospital patient; • A permanent resident of a care home, nursing home or hostel; • Severely mentally impaired;

Second Homes

• A care worker on low pay (usually working for charities);

Second homes in this district are charged 90% of the full Council Tax.These are defined as furnished dwellings in which no one resides.

• A carer for someone with a disability who is not their husband, wife, partner or child under 18;

If your second home is job-related (unoccupied because you are required to live elsewhere in a property provided for you as a result of your employment), you will be charged 50% of the full Council Tax.

• A member of a religious community;

Properties that don’t have to pay Council Tax Council Tax is not charged on homes which:

• In prison; or • A member of visiting forces.

If someone in your home is disabled and the property has facilities to specifically meet their needs, you may be entitled to pay less Council Tax.These facilities are:

• Only people under 18 live in;

• A room other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet, needed by the disabled person;

• Only people who are severely mentally impaired live in;

• A second bathroom or kitchen for the disabled person; or

• Dependent relatives live in as an annexe to the main property (granny flats);

• Sufficient space to use a wheelchair indoors.

• Need major repairs or structural alterations to render them habitable (for up to 12 months); or

If you think you may be entitled to any discount, exemption or relief, please contact us.

• Only students live in;

• Are unfurnished empty homes (for up to six months).

Council Tax is not charged on empty homes which: • A charity owns (exempt for up to 6 months); • The person who lived in is in prison, in hospital or in a residential home; • The person who lived in has gone to live with someone else to receive care, or has moved to care for someone else; • The trustee of is waiting for probate or letters of administration to be granted; • Is subject to repossession proceedings; • A student owns and was the last person to live in; • A trustee in bankruptcy is responsible for;

Appeals If you have been refused a discount, exemption or relief or do not think you should be responsible for paying Council Tax, you can appeal to us in writing telling us why you think we have got it wrong. Our contact details are on your bill.

We will look at your case again and we might ask for more information. If we do not change our decision and you still don’t agree, you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal. See www.valuation-tribunals.gov.uk or contact us for details.

If you are no longer entitled to a discount, exemption or relief, or a smaller discount should apply, you must notify us within 21 days or you may face a penalty of £70.

...Making Every Penny Count

7

About your Council Tax Paying Your Council Tax

After the liability order is granted we will write to you and ask you for the following information:

The bill we send you will tell you how much you have to pay, how much your monthly instalments are and how many instalments we have given you to pay the bill in. Details of how to make your payments are on the back of your bill.

It is important that you pay the instalments on or before the day they are due.

• Details of how much you earn; • The name and address of your employer and your payroll number; • Details of any other income you get, including your partner’s income.

You must return this information to us. If you don’t or give us false information you could be prosecuted and face a criminal record and be fined up to £1,000 by the Magistrates Court.

Our Customer Service Centres handle 130,000 calls, 48,000 visits and respond to 6,000 emails each year.

Once we have a liability order from the court, and there has been no contact to make arrangements to pay, we can take strong action against you including:

What if I don’t pay on time?

• Make deductions directly from your wages/salary;

The action we will take if you don’t pay will be in line with Council Tax regulations and Lancaster City Council’s Code of Practice on recovery.

• Make deductions directly from your Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance;

If you don’t pay your instalments on time we will send you a reminder.This will tell you to bring your payments up to date within seven days.

• Pass your account to the bailiffs to recover full payment.This will mean more costs being added to the debt;

If you can't bring your payments up to date then please contact us and we will try to help you.We might be able to make an arrangement so you can pay what you owe.

• Take bankruptcy proceedings against you.This is a very serious action – you could have to pay additional costs of up to £20,000 or more and lose your home;

If you: • Ignore the reminder;

• Obtain a charging order against your property and ask the court for an order for sale.You would have to pay the council’s costs and may lose your home to pay the debt;

• Make an arrangement but don’t keep to it;

• Ask the court to consider sending you to prison for non-payment.

We always prefer to make suitable payment arrangements, but if you don’t contact us we will be forced to choose one of the above actions to recover the debt. Council Tax regulations do not require us to use any of the above in any particular order. We will decide which is the most suitable to secure payment as quickly and effectively as possible.

• Don’t pay anything; or • Pay part but not all of it.

We will send you a summons for the Magistrates Court, and costs will be added to your account.

You must pay the full amount shown on the summons, plus the costs, before the date of the hearing or contact us to make an arrangement for payment if you can’t pay the full amount.

If you have difficulty in paying your bills We carry out more than 750 food hygiene inspections each year.

Before we will make an arrangement with you, we will ask you about your financial situation and who you work for and look at your previous payment record.You will still have to pay the summons costs and we will not cancel the court hearing, but you will not have to appear at court unless you wish to.

If you do not pay the amount shown on the summons in full,plus the costs, before the hearing we will ask the magistrates to grant a liability order against you,and further additional costs will be added to your account.This order shows that you are liable for the amount of Council Tax shown on the summons and allows us to take further action to recover the money from you.

If you have made an arrangement with us we will still ask the court for the order, but we will not use the powers it gives as long as you keep to the arrangement.

If you are having difficulty paying your bills and need independent advice, contact us and we can refer you to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau for an appointment with a money advice worker. Or you can contact them direct: Lancaster Citizens Advice Bureau 87 King Street, Lancaster, LA1 1RH Tel : 01524 66529 email:enquiries@lancastercab.org.uk Morecambe and Heysham Citizens Advice Bureau Oban House, 87-89 Queen Street, Morecambe, LA4 5EN Tel: 01524 400405 email:post@morecambecab.cabnet.org.uk You can also get independent advice from the Welfare Rights Service: Welfare Rights Service Lancaster and Wyre Area Team,White Cross, South Road, Lancaster, LA1 4XQ Tel: 08450 530013 email: lancasterwrs@lancashire.gov.uk

...Making Every Penny Count

8

How we can help you pay your Council Tax There are two ways we may be able to provide help for you to pay your Council Tax.You can claim either: 1. Council Tax Benefit or 2. Second Adult Rebate

Take up of these benefit entitlements The council is keen to improve the take up of these benefits and can offer help and advice to anyone interested in knowing more about them.

In particular, the council is keen to offer advice to those people who are currently out of work and who would like to know more about benefits they may be entitled to should they have the opportunity to return to work.

1. Council Tax Benefit The circumstances, under which you can claim this benefit and where to make your claim, are shown below.

The amount of benefit you are entitled to will depend on your income and household circumstances.

Your circumstances

Where to make a claim

On Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit or Employment Support Allowance

You can make a claim either through Jobcentre Plus or by applying directly to the council

In receipt of Pension Credit

You can make a claim via The Pension Service or by applying directly to the council

Working and on low pay including if you are self-employed

You should make a claim directly to the council

Not working but on a low income e.g. any other income not mentioned above.

You should make a claim directly to the council.

You cannot receive Council Tax Benefit if you have savings or other capital of more than £16,000 unless you are receiving Guarantee Credit from the Pension Service (but see the section on Second Adult Rebate).

Child Benefit,War Pensions,War Disablement Pensions and some other social security benefits such as Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance will be ignored when we are calculating how much benefit is due.

It is important that you claim as soon as possible as delays in claiming may mean that you lose out on benefit you may be entitled to. If you are in any doubt as to whether you can claim, please seek advice using the contact details on the next page.

2. Second Adult Rebate If your income or savings are too high for you to receive Council Tax Benefit, you may still be entitled to up to 25% off your Council Tax bill if other adults (not partners) live with you and they are in receipt of a low income or are claiming Job Seekers Allowance or Income Support.The other adults must not be paying rent to you.

You cannot get both Council Tax Benefit and Second Adult Rebate at the same time. If you qualify for both, we will work out which is the best for you and award whichever is the highest.

All claims for Second Adult Rebate must be made directly to Lancaster City Council and you should contact us for a claim form.

You can contact the Benefits Team in any of the following ways: • By post to: Revenue Services, P.O. Box 4, Lancaster LA1 1QR • By telephoning the Benefits Team on (01524) 582965 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday • By personal visit to the Customer Service Centres at Lancaster or Morecambe Town Halls between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday • By e-mail to benefits@lancaster.gov.uk • Customers with hearing difficulties who have a minicom machine can contact us through Typetalk on 18001 01524 582965.

Alternatively, you can visit the benefits page of the council’s website at www.lancaster.gov.uk/benefits for further information.

You can contact Jobcentre Plus by telephoning 0800 055 6688 or the Pension Service by telephoning 0800 991234.

Paying by direct debit Did you know it costs less than 5p to process a direct debit payment whilst payments by other methods cost over 50p more? That works out at an extra cost of collection of £5 per year per household.

Direct debit is the simplest and safest way to make payments, as well as being the most efficient and cost effective way for us to collect your Council Tax and Business Rates.

If you want to pay using this method,please call us on 01524 582900 or complete and return the direct debit instruction provided on the back of your bill.

Data Protection – Fair processing of data Please be assured the council complies with the Data Protection Act 1998.This means the information you have given us will only be held and processed to help us assess and collect Council Tax,revenues and other compatible purposes,such as the detection of fraud*. This information will not be passed to anyone outside the council without lawful authority.

As an individual,you have a number of rights under the Data Protection Act 1998 and further information is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office or website www.ico.gov.uk. *National Fraud Initiative 2010/11 By law,Lancaster City Council must protect the public funds it manages and it is required to participate in the National Fraud Initiative.This is a statutory nationwide drive to crack down on the amount of public money lost each year because of fraud, and requires us to share information provided to us with other bodies responsible for auditing or managing public funds. If you would like more information on the National Fraud Initiative and Lancaster City Council's part in it,please visit www.lancaster.gov.uk/nfi or email:nfi@lancaster.gov.uk.

...Making Every Penny Count