Your Guide to Council Tax 2021/22

Your guide to Council Tax 2021/22

W www.rbwm.gov.uk Follow us on Facebook RBWM Follow us on Twitter @RBWM Royal Borough revenue budget

2020/21 2021/22 Net Gross Specific Other Net Service / Expenses expenditure expenditure Govt. grants income expenditure £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 Managing Director 3,489 4,855 - (1,672) 3,183

Children's services 26,251 101,135 (73,924) (251) 26,960 Adults, health & 57,960 98,742 (6,256) (32,238) 60,248 commissioning Place 7,397 26,664 (1,685) (14,319) 10,660

Resources 7,710 49,741 (27,813) (14,032) 7,896

Contingency 2,915 4,948 - - 4,948

Total service expenditure 105,722 286,085 (109,678) (62,512) 113,895

Non-service costs 10,389 10,674

Notional pension & capital (19,216) (18,844) financing

Total borough expenditure 96,895 105,725

Funding (21,670) (26,255)

Total Council Tax 75,225 79,470 Requirement

2 Royal Borough budget 2021/22 and changes Royal Borough budget The Royal Borough has set a Band D equivalent (including adult social care precept) Council Tax of £1,131.17 for the year ended 31 March 2022. This is calculated as follows: changes 2020/21 to Tax base (Band D equivalent properties) 68,691 for 2020-21 and 69,179 for 2021-22. 2021/22

2020/21 2021/22 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 Budget requirement 96,895 ROYAL BOROUGH OF WINDSOR & MAIDENHEAD 2020/21 The Royal Borough budget requirement 96,895 105,725 Inflation 2,332

Business rate support (15,315) (15,004) Savings and growth (4,641) Other grants (4,250) (10,951) COVID-19 pressures 9,251 Collection fund (surplus) / deficit 113 (300) Use of general reserve (2,218) (21,670) (26,255) Capital financing 300 Net Council Tax requirement 75,225 79,470 Other adjustments 1,588 BAND D EQUIVALENT CHARGE (A) 981.95 1,003.39 Budget requirement 105,725 Adult social care precept 2021/22 £8.840m - BAND D 2021/22 95.46 127.78 EQUIVALENT (B) POLICE & CRIME COMMISSIONER FOR THAMES VALLEY Total budget requirement 446,929 475,892 Environment Agency The Royal Borough Police precept 14,856 16,000 The Environment Agency charges local authorities, including the BAND D EQUIVALENT (C) 216.28 231.28 Royal Borough, a levy for providing ROYAL BERKSHIRE FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE flood defence. In the Thames Total budget requirement 35,263 35,779 region, this includes maintenance The Royal Borough Fire Authority precept 4,644 4,770 of the river system and the operation of a flood warning BAND D EQUIVALENT (D) 67.60 68.95 system. In 2020/21 The Royal GRAND TOTAL BAND D EQUIVALENT (excluding parish 1,361.29 1,431.40 Borough’s levy was £157,096, for figure) A + B + C + D 2021/22 the levy is £162,495.

3 Parish council costs Report it! Each parish council tells the borough council how much to collect to enable them to How to report: provide their services, and the Royal Borough collects this and passes it on. ! Visit the Department for Work and Pensions Parish 2020/21 2021/22 2021/22 charge Benefit theft website www.gov.uk/report-benefit- Precept £ Precept £ Band D £ fraud Bisham 31,139 34,458 47.03 ! Call 0800 854 440 (text phone 0800 3280 512). Bray 171,460 188,495 42.87 ! Write to NBFH, PO Box 224, Preston, PR1 1GP. Cookham 123,973 127,692 43.10 All other fraud Cox Green 150,341 156,014 51.01 To report a fraud Datchet 142,818 144,272 63.70 affecting the Royal REPORT Borough of Windsor & IT! Eton 94,647 116,820 63.84 REPORT Maidenhead, such as IT! Horton 33,556 42,265 91.67 Council Tax support, REPORT IT! social care, blue Hurley 38,351 33,000 32.81 badges, housing applications or any other council Old Windsor 160,500 164,839 68.26 area, please email in confidence fraud@wokingham. gov.uk giving as much information about the fraud as Shottesbrooke - - - you can. (Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead Sunningdale 192,379 194,303 56.13 and Wokingham Borough Council Shared Audit and Investigation Service). Sunninghill & Ascot 201,690 203,062 31.00 Waltham St. Lawrence 24,500 24,500 36.01 White Waltham 126,687 128,586 100.26 Wraysbury 84,800 97,000 45.27 Unparished* 1,216,965 1,215,694 33.90

*If you live in Maidenhead or Windsor, you pay a contribution towards the services provided in Maidenhead or Windsor in the same way that a parish charge is made upon people who live in a precepting parish.

4 Adult social care precept What is the adult social care precept? Since 2016/17 the Government has given councils the power to apply an additional charge on top of Council Tax to provide more funding for adult social care services. The precept was introduced to ensure council services can support vulnerable residents and meet the increase in demand as our population ages. This additional funding has paid for: • More nursing beds for residents with dementia and or other complex needs. • Meeting the increased cost of care in care homes and people’s own homes. • Improving the accommodation offer for residents with learning disabilities.

Cheques no longer accepted Cheques are no longer accepted at the Royal Borough as a form of payment. You will still be able to make payments to us for Council Tax, business rates or anything else using a credit or debit card or via bank transfer.

5 How much is your total bill? Valuation band & range The amount you will pay depends on which of the eight valuation bands your home is A - Up to £40,000 E - £88,001 to £120,000 in. The bands are based on your home’s capital value at 1 April 1991 and are set by the B - £40,001 to £52,000 F - £120,001 to £160,000 Government’s Valuation Office Agency. The table below sets out how much your bill will be C - £52,001 to £68,000 G - £160,001 to £320,000 depending on your parish and valuation band. D - £68,001 to £88,000 H - More than £320,000

BAND A B C D E F G H Bisham 985.63 1,149.88 1,314.16 1,478.43 1,806.98 2,135.50 2,464.06 2,956.85 Bray 982.86 1,146.64 1,310.46 1,474.27 1,801.89 2,129.49 2,457.13 2,948.54 Cookham 983.02 1,146.83 1,310.68 1,474.50 1,802.18 2,129.83 2,457.52 2,949.01 Cox Green 988.29 1,152.98 1,317.70 1,482.41 1,811.85 2,141.25 2,470.70 2,964.82 Datchet 996.75 1,162.84 1,328.98 1,495.10 1,827.36 2,159.58 2,491.85 2,990.20 Eton 996.84 1,162.95 1,329.11 1,495.24 1,827.53 2,159.79 2,492.08 2,990.48 Horton 1015.39 1,184.60 1,353.84 1,523.07 1,861.54 2,199.97 2,538.46 3,046.13 Hurley 976.15 1,138.82 1,301.52 1,464.21 1,789.60 2,114.96 2,440.36 2,928.42 Old Windsor 999.78 1,166.39 1,333.03 1,499.66 1,832.92 2,166.16 2,499.44 2,999.31 Shottesbrooke 954.28 1,113.30 1,272.36 1,431.40 1,749.50 2,067.57 2,385.68 2,862.80 Sunningdale 991.70 1,156.96 1,322.25 1,487.53 1,818.10 2,148.65 2,479.23 2,975.06 Sunninghill & Ascot 974.95 1,137.41 1,299.92 1,462.40 1,787.39 2,112.35 2,437.35 2,924.80 Waltham St. Lawrence 978.29 1,141.31 1,304.37 1,467.41 1,793.52 2,119.59 2,445.70 2,934.83 White Waltham 1021.12 1,191.28 1,361.48 1,531.66 1,872.04 2,212.39 2,552.78 3,063.31 Wraysbury 984.46 1,148.51 1,312.60 1,476.67 1,804.83 2,132.96 2,461.14 2,953.35 Unparished 976.88 1,139.67 1,302.49 1,465.30 1,790.93 2,116.54 2,442.18 2,930.60

6 Council Tax discounts

Single person discount People with disabilities A 25 percent discount is given where a property is the sole or main You may be entitled to a Council Tax reduction if your property has: residence of only one adult aged 18 or over. • An additional bathroom or kitchen required for meeting the needs Disregard discount of a disabled resident. Some people will get a discount because they or the people they • Sufficient floor space for a wheelchair which is used for meeting live with are not ‘counted’ for Council Tax purposes. the needs of a disabled resident. The people who are not ‘counted’ include: • A room predominantly used by and required for meeting the needs of a disabled person. • Full-time students, youth training trainees, apprentices and some student nurses. • People who are severely mentally impaired. • 18 and 19-year-olds who have just left school. • People caring for someone with a disability (other than their partner or a child under 18). Job related discount Appeals If you pay Council Tax on two properties because you are required Appealing against your banding to live in one of them as a condition of your employment, you may If you think your property should be in a different valuation band, you be entitled to a 50 percent discount on one property. should contact the Valuation Office Agency to ask them to check it or Empty properties to find out what your rights are and how to appeal. Their website is www.voa.gov.uk. If a property is unoccupied and unfurnished for a period of at least two years, a 100 percent Council Tax premium is payable on top Appeals against liability or amount payable of the full Council Tax for the property. From 1 April 2020, the If you feel you should not be liable for Council Tax you can appeal to premium rose to 200 percent where the property has been empty the council. You can also appeal if you have asked for a discount or and unfurnished for at least five years and 300 percent where it exemption that has not been awarded. For a full list of Council Tax has been empty and unfurnished for at least ten years. discounts and exemptions, please visit the website.

7 Council Tax Council Tax support and second adult rebate exemptions Council Tax support The following unoccupied properties may Since 1 April 2013 Council Tax Benefit has been replaced by Council Tax Support. If you are be exempt from Council Tax: not receiving Council Tax Support you could be missing out on support of up to a 100 percent reduction in your Council Tax bill if you are a pensioner. • Owned by a charity (up to six months). • Was the home of someone who is in Second adult rebate detention (i.e. in prison or detained under If you have someone aged over 18 living with you and they have a low income and are not a Mental Health Act or Immigration Act). spouse or partner you could qualify for a 25 percent second adult rebate. • Was the home of someone who has Had a change in your circumstances? gone to live elsewhere to receive care The amount you are entitled to is affected by many things including the income of your household, (including a residential care home, the number and ages of the people living there, any disability, your Council Tax and savings. hospital or with relatives), or was the home of someone who has moved If your claim is not based on current information there is a chance you could be getting too away to provide care for another much support – or not enough. person. If your circumstances have changed you must notify us immediately. • Self-contained property which forms part of another dwelling (e.g. an Unoccupied and unfurnished properties annexe) and it would be a breach of Please note that, since April 2017 no reduction is available to planning law to let it separately. properties which are unoccupied and unfurnished. This means • Where executors are responsible for that full Council Tax is payable on these properties. the property and are waiting for probate If the property remains empty and unfurnished for two years, or letters of administration to be granted. then a 100 percent premium is payable on top of the full Council The following occupied properties may be Tax for the property. exempt from Council Tax: This will increase to 200 percent if the property remains empty and • Occupied only by students or people unfurnished for at least five years and 300 percent where it has been who are severely mentally impaired. empty and unfurnished for at least ten years. There is no reduction for properties undergoing or requiring structural alterations. For further • Annexe occupied by elderly or disabled details please visit the council’s website. relatives.

8 Further information about Council Tax can be found at: The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead - https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/council-tax-and-benefits The Environment Agency - www.environment-agency.gov.uk Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley - www.thamesvalley-pcc.gov.uk Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service - www.rbfrs.co.uk

Mandatory parish precept information available at: Sunninghill and Ascot Parish Council - https://sunninghillandascotparishcouncil.co.uk/ Datchet Parish Council - www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Bray Parish Council - www.brayparishcouncil.gov.uk Cox Green Parish Council - www.coxgreen.gov.uk Sunningdale Parish Council - www.sunningdale-pc.org.uk Old Windsor Parish Council - www.owpc.co.uk