Local Council Tax support – Borough/District Council position

Borough/District Council
Blaby District Council / The grant amount will not be known until the week commencing 17th December and it is possible that this could be delayed until January.
This grant is fixed therefore presenting a financial risk to the preceptors should the grant be insufficient.
During this process the Billing Authority is being asked to assist parishes to help provide certainty of funding. Exactly how this is going to be achieved is yet to be agreed. There is obviously greater financial impact for parishes with higher number of Benefit claimants.
Blaby District Council is currently implementing a new Council Tax system which is due to go live on 10th December.
We are planning on being able to provide parishes with a view of the unadjusted Council Tax Base by the 14th December. We will look to distribute a final version adjusted for Council Tax Support as soon as we are able following this.
Deadline for the receipt of parish precepts is 31st January 2013.
Charnwood Borough Council / The actual allocation of the grant funding related to the new local scheme of council tax support, is at the discretion of the billing authority. However, in the light of the emerging Government position, and generally in the spirit of equity, Charnwood Borough Council are proposing that all grant funding attributable to the town and parish councils will be passed on to those bodies.
These proposals will be reflected in the draft budget which will be available for consultation after Christmas.
The method used to allocate grant funding to towns and parishes is also at the discretion of the billing authority. Our proposal is that this allocation will be pro rata in proportion to the local council tax base as a proportion of the total Charnwood Borough Council council tax base adjusted for the number of council tax benefit claimants within each local council tax base.
What are the effects of our proposals?
Unfortunately we are unable to provide towns and parishes with details of the exact amount of grant funding they can expect to receive from us at this time. The earliest we expect to be notified by the Government of the preliminary detail of our financial settlement (including the grants relating to the local scheme of council tax support) is 19 December; although it is possible that we will not receive details until January 2013.
We will endeavour to notify you of your share of the grant as soon as possible; however, please note that this will still remain subject to Council approval of our overall budget. In any event, we recognise in practice that this will be too late for you to amend your precepting instructions to us. As a reminder, in order that we can meet the statutory timetable it is still necessary that you submit your instructions to us by 16 January 2013.
Harborough District Council / The grant amount will not be known until the week commencing 17 December and it is possible that this could be delayed until the 4 January 2013.
This grant is fixed therefore presenting a financial risk to the preceptors should the grant be insufficient.
During this process the Billing Authority is being asked to assist parishes to help provide certainty of funding. Exactly how this is going to be achieved is yet to be agreed. There is obviously greater financial impact for parishes with higher number of Benefit claimants.
We are planning on being able to provide parishes with a view of the unadjustedCouncil Tax Base by the end of December. We will look to distribute a final version adjusted for Council Tax Support as soon as we are able following this.
Setting of Precepts
In the request for precepts we asked for them to be returned by 17 December, but we did also say we will accept changes in writing up to and including 28 January 2013. If we receive a precept by this date we are able to include in the Council Tax report to this Council and set the Council tax for the district.
We would be grateful if you can provide us with your estimate as soon as possible, but if you can provide us with your final precept by 31 January 2013.
Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council / As an Authority, we wrote to all local precepting bodies on 4 December 2012, informing them of the proposed changes to the calculation of the Council Tax Base2013/14. Within this letter we advised parish and town councils that the Council Tax Base for 2013/14 would be calculated, taking into account the changes in Council Tax and Council Tax Benefit that will adopted by Hinckley & Bosworth BC next year. A copy of this letter is appended for reference.
With regards to the funding available to the Authority through Council Tax Support Grant, we acknowledge that there is an element of the funding that will be for local precepting bodies but the exact amount relating to parish and town councils is difficult to determine until the finance settlement is announced as expected in week commencing 17 December. We will seek to ensure that a fair and proportionate amount of this grant is made available to our parish and town councils. The exact distribution of this and the calculation of bases is currently being calculated and we will endeavor to inform parishes of both by 21 December 2012. As I am sure you will appreciate, this communication will depend on the timing of the release of the Local Government Settlement. Any delay will be communicated to parishes on a timely basis.
We appreciate that the changes to the finance regime of Local Government are complex and therefore please do contact either Fiona McArthur or Katherine Bennett on 01455 255 609 if you have any questions on the content of this letter.
Melton Borough Council / Melton Borough Council will be considering its scheme at its council meeting on 12th December 2012.
Billing authorities will not be notified of the grant attributable to parish councils until its own grant is announced in late December, anticipated to be 19th December 2012. Following this announcement there will need to be some analysis undertaken over its implications. Due to the uncertainty this presents I am extending the deadline for the notification of parish precepts to 25th January 2013 as requested by some parishes.
North West Leics District Council / The Government provided indicative figures of the amount of grant it would provide to authorities in May 2012 but the level of funding will not be confirmed until the Local Government Finance Settlement is announced which is expected around 19 December 2012.
Our Cabinet will be asked to approve the Council Tax Base at its meeting in January 2013 and as part of this it will be deciding on the mechanism for passing down any of its grant to local precepting bodies.
I understand that this Council already provides detailed Council Tax base information to town and parish councils to assist them in setting their precepts and this will continue for 2013/14.
The Council will write to you again once we have calculated the Council tax base and the Cabinet has agreed the mechanism for distributing any grant.
Rutland County Council / The Cabinet will be meeting in January 2013 to set the Council tax base for 2013/14 and to consider whether it will pass down funding to local precepting authorities.
At this stage, the Council is minded to pass down the proportion of Government grant set aside in indicative settlement figures for parish councils. The figure for Rutland is C£38,000. Council will, following its Cabinet meeting in January, inform parish councils of their grant allocation and 2013/14 tax base.
In order that the Council tax setting report can be completed, the return of the precept required forms must be returned to the Council by 28th January 2013. This is seven days later than the original date.