Agenda item

To receive a report from the Chief Executive.

The Chairman invited Cllr Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Finance, Development Management, and Strategic Planning, to present a report on the calculation of and setting of Council Tax for the year 2024/25.

Cllr Botterill moved the proposals set out in the report, seconded by Cllr Richard Clewer. He noted the technical requirements of the report, and provided details of the proposed precept for the parish of Clarendon Park which had not been confirmed at the time of publication of the agenda for the meeting and the figures as published were correct.

Secondly, he noted the public statement under Minute 6 and confirmed the council had been informed Dilton Marsh Parish Council had not been able to formally agree their precept proposal but had a meeting scheduled later in the week. He stated Wiltshire Council did not expect any change to the precept figure as indicated by the parish council. It was therefore proposed to use powers in the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the subsequent regulations to anticipate the precept as the amount to which officers had been notified, in order to set the budget and agree the Council Tax level, as Wiltshire Council was legally required to do.

There were no comments from Group Leaders, or further debate.

It was then,

Resolved:

1.         That it be noted that on 13 December 2023 Cabinet met and approved:

(a)       the Council Tax Base 2024/25 for the whole Wiltshire Council area as 194,423.87 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the "Act")] and,

(b)       for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish precept relates as in the attached Appendix.

2.         To calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2024/25 (excluding parish precepts) is £ 351,077,014.78.

3.         That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2024/25 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

(a)       £1,128,309,438.35 (Gross Revenue Expenditure including transfers to reserves, parish precepts and any collection fund deficit) being the aggregate of the amounts which 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).

(b)       £605,285,111.25 (Gross Revenue Income including transfers from reserves, General Government Grants and any collection fund

surplus) being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

(c)       £523,024,327.10 (Net Revenue Expenditure including parish precepts) being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31A(4) of the Act).

(d)       £1,974.06 (Wiltshire Council band D tax plus average Town & Parish Councils Band D Council Tax) being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (2 above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts), as shown below:

e)         £32,726,540.10 (Aggregate of Town & Parish Council Precepts) being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish Precepts)

referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (as per Appendix C).

(f)        £1,805.73 (band D Council Tax for Wiltshire Council purposes only) being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by Item T (2 above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts:

In accordance with the Constitution there was a recorded vote.

Votes for the motion (78)

Votes against the motion (1)

Votes in abstention (2)

Details of the recorded vote are attached to these minutes.