North Hants residents facing a rise in council tax

COUNCIL tax for Basingstoke and Deane residents is set to rise from April after the county and borough councils both approved their budgets for the forthcoming year.

In a Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council meeting on February 25, councillors approved a £5, or 10p per week, average increase for the borough council part of the council tax for 2021/22, taking payments to the borough alone from £126.42 to £131.42 annually.

In a Hampshire County Council meeting on the same date, councillors approved an increase in council tax of £1.23 per week, equating to 4.99 per cent – of which three per cent is ringfenced for adult social care.

This increase means that from April the council tax for a Band D property will rise by £64 per year to £1,350.45.

Additionally, in January, the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel increased their part of the council tax bill from £211 to £226 for the forthcoming year to help fund more police officers.

The borough council said the budget maintained services that residents value, including weekly bin collections, community safety patrols and keeping areas looking their best.

The borough council’s cabinet member for finance and service improvement Hannah Golding said: “Residents’ priorities are at the heart of everything we do and following public consultation on our proposals, we have listened to the feedback and removed a number of options to help balance the council’s budget for the next year.

“Our budget continues to focus on what matters most to our communities while keeping council tax low as well, ensuring we are well placed to prepare for the borough’s future as we work alongside our partners to respond to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“Although we have a history of strong financial management, this year we have had to make some difficult decisions with reductions in funding, rising costs and demand for our services.”

Hampshire County Council leader Keith Mans said: “Alongside the major ongoing programme of work to protect the residents of Hampshire against Covid-19, our priority remains to protect those who are most in need – vulnerable children and the growing numbers of elderly people and adults with very complex care needs.

“A proportion of the council tax precept will be used specifically to meet adult social care pressures in 2021/22, but we continue to press Government for a long-term national funding solution as we simply cannot sustain growth in demand and cost indefinitely.”