Council Tax changes in Herefordshire become clearer

The likely rise in council tax paid by Herefordshire homes from April has become clearer.

A budget-setting meeting of cabinet leaders this week backed a total council tax increase of 2.99 per cent, made up of a 1 per cent rise in adult social care funding, and a 1.99 per cent increase in “core” council tax for all other council services.

This would increase the charge on a band D household to £1,701.70, up £0.95 per week, or £4.12 a month.

Councillors agreed to keep the council tax reduction (CTR) rate for struggling families at 100 per cent for the coming year, irrespective of the price banding of their home, meaning they will pay no council tax at all.

Councillors also also proposed to almost triple the money available to fund discretionary housing scheme payments for families just failing to qualify for CTR, from £272,000 to £772,000.

Cabinet member for finance Liz Harvey, who drafted the budget, said: “This is a vital provision for Herefordshire, where wages are low and house prices and rental charges are high, and where there is a significant under-provision of social and affordable housing.”

CPR for pensioners is set nationally, currently also at 100 per cent, while the rate for working age people is set by local authorities.

More than 11,000 Herefordshire households currently receive CTR, 6,300 of them of working age, a figure which has risen by a quarter during the current financial year.

This represents nearly £14 million in foregone income for the council, budget documents showed.

The final council tax level, including precepts for all the county’s parishes plus police and fire authority charges, will be set on March 4.