Budgets 2016/17
Tracey Bircumshaw 01472 676560
30 October 2015
For the attention of all Town/Parish Council/Meetings raising a Precept
Dear Sir/Madam
The Council is in the process of preparing its estimates for the forthcoming financial year and in order that suitable provision can be made, I shall need to know the estimated amount which your Parish Council will require next year to meet its expenses.
I would be grateful if you could return the enclosed Parish Precept ESTIMATE form as soon as possible and in any event no later than Friday 27 November 2015. .
The FINAL claim form needs to be used by the Parish to request the actual payment of the precept and should only be submitted when the Parish has formally determined its precept requirement for 2016/17. The District Council needs the final claim form to be submitted before it can pay over the requested precept and this should be received no later than Friday 8th January 2016.
Please contact me with details of the date at which you can provide your Final Claim, if your Parish Meeting is convened after 8th January 2016.
Please Note When Completing The Final Claim Form – Precept Payments cannotbe paid into the bank accounts of Parochial Church Councils.
An information sheet is attached to help you complete your forms.
Localisation of Council Tax Support Grant 2016/17
Prior to 2013/14 Central Government refunded the costs of the Council Tax Benefit Scheme to Local Authorities directly. In 2013/14 a new localised scheme was introduced (Localisation of Council Tax Support Scheme) which meant that the District Council and Parish Councils had to fund the costs of this scheme from Council Tax. To enable them to do this without substantial impact, a reduction is made to the Council Tax Base at local level based on the value of support given in your Parish.
In addition, and to mitigate any overall cost impact of the scheme Central Government issued a Localisation of Council Tax Support Grant and since 2014/15 this is now consolidated into West Lindsey District Council’s main Central Government grant. West Lindsey District Council has passed on this grant to Parish Councils for the past 3 years and whilst the overall Central Government grant has reduced, the overall level of Council Tax support given to Parishes has remained unchanged against the 2013/14 level. In 2016/17 it is expected that the Central Government grant will be reduce further.
Please note that this grant is provided to reduce the impact of the Localisation of Council Tax Discount Scheme at Parish level on Council Tax, and is apportioned based on the impact of the scheme to individual Parishes, therefore, the individual amounts of grant received will vary each year.
The scheme therefore puts all the financial risk onto both the District and Parish Councils, as the Tax Base becomes more volatile and the support grant distribution changes.
However, West Lindsey District Council are pleased to inform you that whilst we are not obliged to do so, we will again be supporting Parishes at the 2013/14 level in 2016/17. The total amount of grant to be distributed is £169,811.
Please note that future support to Parishes beyond 2016/17 has yet to be considered.
Whilst we held an information session last year to provide an understanding of the Localisation of Council Tax Scheme (LCTS) on the Parish precept this was well attended by most Parish Clerks. However, if demand requires a further refresher event, then please let me know as soon as possible, and I will arrange prior to the Estimate deadline.
Once again we will be providing an estimate model which will assist you setting your precept and which will illustrate how the LCTS and changes in tax base will impact your overall Council Tax level.
Alsoas requested by Parish Clerks last year was some suggested wording for your Parishioners, this is provided below;
Note for Parishioners
Your Council Tax is made up of a number of elements which fluctuate but determine the total amount charged.
This includes;
Parish Precept (the amount the Parish Council requires to fund its services)
Tax Base (the number of properties in the Parish)
Local Council Tax Support Scheme (amount of financial support given Parishioners on low income)
Council Tax Discounts and exemptions (eg single person discount)
Financial grant support given to the Parish by West Lindsey District Council
It is possible that the Parish Council does not change its Precept and yet the Council Tax charged to you may increase/decrease due to the other factors above.
Yours faithfully
Financial Services Manager
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