Which services do councils provide, where does my tax go and could funding be cut to to schools and libraries?
A CRISIS in local government funding means ordinary Brits will face hikes in their council taxes from next year.
A fresh survey out today shows that charges will rise in 93 per cent of areas, and taxes will go up in 95 per cent of places.
This all stems from funding problems, which have beset local areas for years – but has got worse with more pressures from social care.
And that comes on top of slashed funding from central government too, meaning councils are facing huge deficits in some areas of the country.
So how is council tax charged, and where does your hard-earned cash really go?
Council tax is the main source of income for most authorities
On average, each household pays £1,591 a year in tax which helps fund a lot of different public services.
Each local authority sets its own tax, and every area retains the money and can spend it on a variety of things.
It is charged on all domestic properties, with different valuations depending on how much it is worth.
Next year it’s set to go up by an average of £107 per person after councils were given the green light to raise the cap.
Each year central government gives a limit of how much it can go up by without asking locals to have their say.
Residents in Weymouth & Portland Borough Council pay the highest Band D council tax in England – £1,891. The lowest is in Westminster – £688.
Why is it under pressure?
Mainly because a large proportion of funding from national government is being cut.
There is more of a strain on taking care of the elderly, a rising population, and less cash in the pot.
By 2020 local government in England will have lost 75p out of every pound of their funding through the Revenue Support grant funding that it got in 2015.
And almost half of all councils will not get any core funding by that time – leading councils to make cut backs, provide fewer services, and crucially for us – to hike taxes.
Councils are also set to hike the cost of council-provided services like waste collection, grass cutting, meals on wheels and planning, to try and make ends meet.
And because more must be spent to look after the people who need it – authorities will be forced to spend much less on services like parks and libraries.
Are any councils in a dire situation?
The Local Government Association predicted that 8 in 10 councils fear they could fall into serious financial difficulties.
Earlier this week Northamptonshire Council said it was banning all new spending and slashing services after running out of cash – and it was predicted to spend an extra £21million this year.
Even Surrey, the UK’s richest county, has been hit by a £100m cash crisis – one of the worst in the country. On average, English local authorities have a £14.7million funding gap – around 6.9 per cent.
So what does it all get spent on?
Care for the elderly, vulnerable adults and children
This is where the majority of cash goes – social care.
And due to our ageing population, paying to look after our elderly is catching up with us.
According to data from the Local Government Association in 2015, around 31p in every pound was spent on caring for vulnerable adults.
And it is predicted this will rise to 57p in the pound by 2020.
Last year ministers said that an extra three per cent can also be charged to pay for social care as of 2017.
Maintaining roads
We all know how infuriating a pothole can be – and councils pay out millions every year trying to fix them.
The depth of the UK’s pothole problem is 25 miles deep, that’s four times the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean.
More than 30 vehicles every day are breaking down to holes in the road, damning new research revealed last week.
ROAD RAGE How to make a pothole damage claim against the council – reporting processes and your rights explained
Collecting bins and other waste
The council funds collection services for recycling and other household waste.
Many people have seen fewer services in recent years as council budgets get squeezed.
One fed up resident was forced to take his rubbish to a relative for three months, and another rang the council for 12 solid weeks until hers was finally picked up, a study showed.
Housing planning and development
Sorting out the building of new homes in the area, deciding what new building work can and can’t take place, and building council-owned properties.
Theresa May has promised to help fund more council homes – but it will pay for just 25,000 over five years, when there are 1.2million families on a waiting list.
Providing bus services and other public transport
Councils sort out local bus services, getting everyone from A to B (even if they’re late).
Licensing, elections, trading standards
Cash is needed to sort out local polls, make sure take-aways and restaurants come up to health and safety standards.
Many places – including people in London – will see local elections to vote in their councillors in May this year.
Cleaning streets
Keeping our streets tidy also requires cash.
But it’s predicted that that will have to be cut by 2020 too.
Schools and education
Luckily schools and children’s education is likely to still see a slight increase in the percentage of council tax by 2020.
But compare the 7.8p in the pound it’s set to get by then to the 12.1p in the pound it got in 2010, and it’s easy to see why schools are feeling the pinch so much today.
Angry parents are fuming over having to cough up extra to their kids schools – to buy everything from iPads to pens and pencils.
Libraries, museums, parks and other cultural services
Since 2010 spending on these facilities has dropped too, from 7p in the pound to a predicted 4.6p.
The future?
More than half of councils are set to reduce spending on parks and leisure, and around a third said youth centres to be targeted.
Despite an extra levy on social care, 40 per cent said that would have to be slashed too as budgets continue to be squeezed.
In Northampton £2million worth of cuts to bus subsidies, trading standards, winter maintenance and library services are on the cards – and if other councils face continued squeezed too, they could go the same way.
And LGA figures said that many councils aren’t putting any money into their reserve pots anymore at all – which means they have nothing to fall back on when things go wrong.