Council Tax Freeze for Reading Residents
Reading residents will feel the benefit of the Council’s decision to freeze council tax charges when bills begin landing on their doormats this week. More than 66,000 properties across the town will receive their Council Tax bills from tomorrow onwards. Unlike in previous years, however, they will not have to find any extra money to pay them.
Despite the challenging economic climate, Reading Borough Council has been able to hold charges at 2010/11 levels, whilst continuing to deliver high-quality services and value for money.
The Council Tax freeze for 2011/12 has been made possible after around £19 million of savings were identified by Reading Borough Council in next year’s budget. These include efficiency measures of £7.3m. The process of identifying further efficiency savings will continue over coming years.
Council Tax levels for 2011/12 – which include precepts from Thames Valley Police and the Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service – are as follows:
BAND A: £999.18
BAND B: £1,165.70
BAND C: £1,332.24
BAND D: £1,498.76
BAND E: £1,831.82
BAND F: £2,164.88
BAND G: £2,497.94
BAND H: £2,997.52
More than 40% of properties in Reading fall in Band C, which means more than 2 in five households will have a Council Tax bill based on a charge of £1,332.24 for 2011/12. Households who receive Council Tax benefit and/or a single person discount will pay less than the basic charge per band shown above.
Reading Borough Council Leader Andrew Cumpsty said: ‘For the first time in the Council’s history, we are freezing Council Tax. This means that bills for residents will not rise in the year ahead, helping people right across Reading in managing their household budgets. Times are tough financially, and this first ever freeze delivered by this administration will mean our residents have more of their own money. This is an action by a Council which understands that in tough times, everyone, including the Council, needs to tighten it’s own belt and live within its means.’
Kirsten Bayes, Deputy Leader at Reading Borough Council added: “We understand the financial difficulties our residents face, and are doing our very best to preserve services while keeping costs down. This Council Tax freeze takes away a source of worry in household budgets in cash-strapped times.”
As always, Reading residents who have not already done so are being urged to set up a direct debit to pay their Council Tax bill for 2011/12. This process of payment saves the Council and the council tax payer money by cutting down on significant administration costs. For example it costs around 20 pence per year to pay your Council Tax by direct debit, as opposed to around £20 for all other payment methods, including cash and cheques.
More details about how to set up a Direct Debit to pay your Council Tax bill can be found at http://www.reading.gov.uk/adviceandbenefits/counciltax/payyourbill or residents can telephone 0118 9373727 to request a DD form.
For 2009/10, 97% of Council tax bills were paid and a similar level of payment is expected for 2010/11. Reading Borough Council would like to thank all residents who paid on time.
The Council would urge anyone who has difficulty paying their Council Tax to contact the Council as quickly as possible so suitable arrangements can be made. Residents who refuse to pay and do not contact the Council Tax team need to know the Council will vigourously pursue non-payment of council tax through the courts.
This year the Council has already taken 7,125 people to court for non payment. Where people are taken to court they will have to pay additional costs of up to £90 over and above their Council Tax bill. Where people still refuse to pay, the Council has a variety of other ways of seeking to recover the Council Tax, including seeking bankruptcy or committal to prison. Reading Borough Council has already taken two dozen people to court for committal proceedings which have resulted in payment orders and suspended sentences to date.
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About Richard…
Richard is a Conservative Councillor on Reading Borough Council representing Peppard ward since 2007, having been re-elected in May 2011. He previously represented Thames ward from 2001 to 2004. He is currently the Conservative Shadow Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport on Reading Borough Council. 
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It does amuse me, reading newspapers and blogs from all over the country, seeing how councils make a song and dance about this, when in fact the Fat Controller has told all councils to freeze tax or face penalyies, and sod the consequences for service provision.
Pleased to see the Legal Dept have their priorities right on this issue. It’s a productive time and worthy effort put in for the benefit of the Reading Residents. But only as a last resort. Listening to the local people and reviewing policies for a better relationship with one’s Council is a key factor for a successful Administration.
Jonny..quite right………For ‘freezing’ council tax RBC get a £1.7 million special grant, and if they put it up by more than 3 or 3.5 % they would be capped. Bit of a no-brainer really! Still, who cares about the truth when a good headline beckons!
It makes even more of a mockery of Labour’s criticisms of Coalition decisions. If they did everything they claim they would they would lose the special grant and have to increase Council Tax by as much as 30% (if allowed to by Central Govt).
Anyway Howard what is not true? Council Tax HAS been frozen this year despite the obvious financial issues faced by the local Coalition administration!
Richard……I realise that freezing council tax this year is good, simply pointing out that it is more to do with government policy than anything else. I also realise that the council’s debt has risen from £40 million in 2002 to £200 million now, all this debt ‘achieved’ under the Labour administration, also that it costs Reading some £13million a year to service that debt!
Out of interest , have you any idea what the money was spent on to get our town’s debt up to that level ?
On the subject of council tax , our policy is to abolish it on primary residences and collect the monies via national income tax. That would tick all the boxes as regards fairness and cost savings. Last time I asked it cost RBC £1.6million to administer council tax and a further £1million to run the council tax benefit system. CT benefit exists to assist people who don’t have the income to pay the tax,how absurd! What a waste of time and money when the national income tax system exists and the amount paid would be based on income rather than where a person or family happen to live. From a government point of view it also ticks all the boxes about winning future votes. I’m always surprised that all governments claim the word ‘fair’ , but fail to understand the meaning. Simplification and guenuine fairness should be at the heart of all policy!
Howard – it has been our policy to freeze Council Tax for several years now, predating the national policy to aid this policy. The government support for a freeze is a small percentage of the grant lost in other areas this year. Thus it was a tough job to achieve the freeze this year but we did it!
Mr Thomas, your idea of simply changing the source of council funding to income tax would not make anything better, as the rich avoid paying tax, and they would simply not be paying the small amount of council tax ‘approx’ £3000 that they pay now. Things would be worse. However, there is a much fairer council tax system available, which takes income into account as well as the value of the property. You can find it at http://wp.me/2b1k1 and please tell your friends about it
Richard……I realise that lots of other government monies have been cut and that it wasn’t just this grant that enabled a freeze. With regard to areas to implement cuts to spending , I note that the council spend £10m a year on consultants. PBA account for about £4m of this. Bearing in mind many of the nutty schemes that they have been responsible for designing(not least the infamous Shinfield rd ‘enhancement scheme’), are you sure that this is money well spent and perhaps it might be a good idea to seriously chop back on this ‘luxury’ .
Hi, I am having a great problem right now about the council tax. I am not sure if I am in a approrite place to place a blog here. In my house 4 students lives and a person who is 65 years old and the council pays the some ammount to me as rent. Do the students have to pay full amount of council tax? because a person is a benifit holder with 65 years of age and the rest are student? thank you.
Julian – I will email you privately.
I want to get my band lowered, I;ve heard its a simple process? I dont want to spend alot either. My next door neighbour is in a lower band than my house, I;m pretty sure we have the same size house. its a semi. thanks