Part I Item No: 0 Main author: Ka Ng, Richard Baker Executive Member: Duncan Bell All Wards

WELWYN HATFIELD BOROUGH COUNCIL SPECIAL COUNCIL – 25 FEBRUARY 2020 REPORT OF THE CORPORATE DIRECTOR (RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURAL SERVICES)

COUNCIL TAX SETTING 2020/21

1 Executive Summary

1.1 The Council is required under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to set the Council Tax for its area by no later than 11th March. The Council has always aimed to approve the budget and Council Tax by February in order to ensure prompt despatch of bills and hence quicker collection of sums due. The Council approved the 2020/21 budget on 3 February and the purpose of this report is to set the Council tax for 2020/21.

1.2 The 2020/21 Local Government Finance Settlement was announced 6 February 2020, and does not alter the 2020/21 budget that was approved.

1.3 As set out in the budget report, the Council will increase the average Band D Council tax (excluding parish precepts) by £3.15 (1.49%) to £214.92 for 2020/21.

1.4 Parish Precepts have increased by 2.06% overall to £1.701m and this is an area which the council has no control over, as is determined by Town and Parish Councils.

1.5 For 2020/21, the referendum limits for a band D property set by Government are as follows:

 County Councils: a core principle of up to 2%, with an additional 2% Adult Social Care precept

 District/Borough Councils: 2% or up to £5 on a Band D, whichever is greater

 Police: up to £10 on a Band D

2 Recommendation(s)

2.1 That it be noted that the 2020/21 General Fund budget as approved by Council meeting on 3 February is shown in Appendix A.

2.2 That it be noted that at the Cabinet, Special Cabinet and Council meetings on the 6 January, 21 January and 3 February respectively, the following amounts for the year 2020/21 were agreed in accordance with regulations made under Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”).

a) The gross 2020/21 Tax base for the Borough is 42,847.1 equivalent Band D properties before the application of a collection rate.

b) 42,590.0 being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012 (the Regulations), as its Council Tax Base for the year 2020/21; including deductions for council tax support and a collection rate of 99.4%.

c) Part of the Council's Area being the amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 6 of the Regulations, as the amounts of its Council Tax Base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate;

100% 99.40%

TAXBASE TAXBASE

Welwyn Garden City 17,603.1 17,497.5 Hatfield 11,861.7 11,790.5 Welwyn 4,692.4 4,664.2 69.6 69.2 115.4 114.7 North Mymms 4,417.7 4,391.2 Essendon 435.5 432.9 Northaw &Cuffley 3,088.5 3,070.0 563.2 559.8

Total 42,847.1 42,590.0

2.3 In accordance with the statutory legislation the Council is recommended to resolve:

2.4 That the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2020/21 in accordance with sections 31 - 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

a) £140,734,746 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act, taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils.

b) £129,880,048 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

c) £10,854,698 being the amount by which the aggregate at 2.4(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 2.4(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year.

d) £254.86 being the amount at 2.4(c) above, all divided by the Council tax base at 2.2(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year.

e) £2,279,315 being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.

f) £201.34 being the amount at 2.4(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 2.4(e) by 2.2(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates.

g) Part of the Council's area:

Being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 2.4(f) above the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council's area mentioned above divided in each case by the amount at 2.2(c) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34 (3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

Band D Amount (£) Ayot St Lawrence 212.90 Ayot St Peter 220.96 Essendon 259.21 Hatfield 280.47 North Mymms 244.07 Northaw & Cuffley 284.36 Welwyn 296.86 224.43 Woolmer Green 248.06

h) Part of the Council’s Area:

Amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 2.4(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

Valuation Bands Band A Band B Band C Band D Band E Band F Band G Band H (£) Ayot St Lawrence 141.93 165.59 189.24 212.90 260.21 307.52 354.83 425.80 Ayot St Peter 147.31 171.86 196.41 220.96 270.06 319.16 368.27 441.92 Essendon 172.81 201.61 230.41 259.21 316.81 374.41 432.02 518.42 Hatfield 186.98 218.14 249.31 280.47 342.80 405.12 467.45 560.94 North Mymms 162.71 189.83 216.95 244.07 298.31 352.55 406.78 488.14 Northaw & Cuffley 189.57 221.17 252.76 284.36 347.55 410.74 473.93 568.72 Welwyn 197.91 230.89 263.88 296.86 362.83 428.80 494.77 593.72 Welwyn Garden 149.62 174.56 199.49 224.43 274.30 324.18 374.05 448.86 City Woolmer Green 165.37 192.94 220.50 248.06 303.18 358.31 413.43 496.12

2.5 That it be noted that for the year 2020/21 the major precepting authorities, County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire have stated the amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the

Local Government Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated in the following tables.

Hertfordshire County Council (£)

Band A Band B Band C Band D Band E Band F Band G Band H Ayot St Lawrence 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40 Ayot St Peter 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40 Essendon 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40 Hatfield 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40 North Mymms 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40 Northaw & Cuffley 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40 Welwyn 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40 Welwyn Garden City 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40 Woolmer Green 942.80 1,099.93 1,257.07 1,414.20 1,728.47 2,042.73 2,357.00 2,828.40

Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire (£)

Band A Band B Band C Band D Band E Band F Band G Band H Ayot St Lawrence 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00 Ayot St Peter 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00 Essendon 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00 Hatfield 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00 North Mymms 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00 Northaw & Cuffley 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00 Welwyn 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00 Welwyn Garden City 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00 Woolmer Green 132.00 154.00 176.00 198.00 242.00 286.00 330.00 396.00

2.6 That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 2.4(h) and 2.5 (a) and (b) above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the tables below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2020/21 for each part of its area and for each categories of dwellings.

Part of the Council's Area (£)

Band A Band B Band C Band D Band E Band F Band G Band H Ayot St Lawrence 1,216.73 1,419.52 1,622.31 1,825.10 2,230.68 2,636.25 3,041.83 3,650.20 Ayot St Peter 1,222.11 1,425.79 1,629.48 1,833.16 2,240.53 2,647.89 3,055.27 3,666.32 Essendon 1,247.61 1,455.54 1,663.48 1,871.41 2,287.28 2,703.14 3,119.02 3,742.82 Hatfield 1,261.78 1,472.07 1,682.38 1,892.67 2,313.27 2,733.85 3,154.45 3,785.34 North Mymms 1,237.51 1,443.76 1,650.02 1,856.27 2,268.78 2,681.28 3,093.78 3,712.54 Northaw & Cuffley 1,264.37 1,475.10 1,685.83 1,896.56 2,318.02 2,739.47 3,160.93 3,793.12 Welwyn 1,272.71 1,484.82 1,696.95 1,909.06 2,333.30 2,757.53 3,181.77 3,818.12

Welwyn Garden City 1,224.42 1,428.49 1,632.56 1,836.63 2,244.77 2,652.91 3,061.05 3,673.26 Woolmer Green 1,240.17 1,446.87 1,653.57 1,860.26 2,273.65 2,687.04 3,100.43 3,720.52

3 Special items - Parish Precepts

3.1 In accordance with the legislation under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, all Parish Precepts have to be charged to the Council's General Fund.

3.2 For 2020/21, the total parish precepts (net of the council tax support grant) will be increased by £34,624 (2.1%). The table below shows the precepts for each of the town/parish councils in 2020/21 and year on year change.

2019/20 Parish Precepts (net of 2020/21 Parish Parish Councils Change Change Council Tax Precepts Support grant)

£ £ £ % Ayot St Lawrence 800.00 800.00 0.00 0.0% Ayot St Peter 2,000.00 2,250.00 250.00 12.5% Essendon 18,000.00 22,500.00 4,500.00 25.0% Hatfield 829,405.00 843,441.00 14,036.00 1.7% North Mymms 182,359.00 187,650.00 5,291.00 2.9% Northaw & Cuffley 206,000.00 206,000.00 0.00 0.0% Welwyn 402,399.00 412,459.00 10,060.00 2.5% Welwyn Garden City - - - - Woolmer Green 25,668.00 26,155.00 487.00 1.9%

Total 1,666,631.00 1,701,255.00 34,624.00 2.1%

4 Special items – Special Expenses

4.1 The Council meeting held on 3 February 2020 agreed the amounts to be included in the “Special Expenses” scheme for 2020/21 as £578,059.68.

5 Billing Authority Precepts

5.1 The Borough’s Council Tax requirement for 2020/21 including the parish precept will be £10,854,698.

6 Hertfordshire County Council

6.1 The Hertfordshire County Council precept for 2020/21 is expected to be formally approved on 25 February 2020. The band D council tax will be £1,414.20 and the County precept is £ 60,230,778 for 2020/21. This is a 1.99% increase in their Band D council tax, and an 2% increase for the adult social care precept for 2020/21.

7 Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire

7.1 The Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire’s precept for 2020/21 was formally approved at their meeting on 6 February 2020. The band D council tax will be

£198.00 and the precept is £ 8,432,820 for 2020/21. This is a £10 (5.32%) increase in their Band D council tax.

8 Overall average band D council tax

8.1 To summarise, after taking into account the precepts from Parish Councils, Hertfordshire County Council and Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, the average band D Council tax for the borough area for 2020/21 is £1,867.06, this is an increase of £67.56 or 3.75%. However, the band D council tax varies from £1,825.10 to £1,909.06 and the table below also shows that the tax change for 2020/21 will range from 3.64% to 4.29%.

2019/20 2020/21 Band D £ Band D £ % Change Ayot St Lawrence 1,757.85 1,825.10 3.83% Ayot St Peter 1,763.82 1,833.16 3.93% Essendon 1,794.49 1,871.41 4.29% Hatfield 1,825.43 1,892.67 3.68% North Mymms 1,788.04 1,856.27 3.82% Northaw & Cuffley 1,827.35 1,896.56 3.79% Welwyn 1,840.31 1,909.06 3.74% Welwyn Garden City 1,769.51 1,836.63 3.79% Woolmer Green 1,794.99 1,860.26 3.64%

Borough Area Council Tax 1,799.50 1,867.06 3.75%

Implications

9 Legal Implication(s)

9.1 The Council is required by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to make estimates of gross revenue expenditure and anticipated income, leading to a calculation of a council tax requirement and the setting of an overall budget and Council Tax. The amount of the budget must be sufficient to meet the Council’s legal and financial obligations, ensure the proper discharge of its statutory duties, and lead to a balanced budget. The Council should be satisfied that the proposals put forward are a reasonably prudent use of resources in both the short and long term, and that the interests of both Council Tax payers and ratepayers on the one hand and the users of Council services on the other are both taken into account.

9.2 Section 25 of the 2003 Local Government Act requires the Chief Finance Officer, Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services), to make a formal report to the Council on the robustness of the budget and adequacy of reserves. This report was presented in the Budget report presented to Council at its meeting on 3 February 2020.

10 Financial Implication(s)

10.1 Financial implications are set out in the body of the report where relevant.

11 Risk Management Implication(s)

11.1 There are risks to the council’s short and medium term budget strategy including continued government funding restrictions, the impact of the economic downturn, inflation and other changes in the national economy, spending exceeding budgets, pressures on existing budgets, legislative change demands for new spend and the delivery of challenging efficiency targets. The budget process includes the recognition of these risks in determining the 2020/21 budget and relevant risk provisions are set out in the body of the report.

12 Security & Terrorism Implication(s)

12.1 There are none arising directly from this report.

13 Procurement Implication(s)

13.1 There are none arising directly from this report.

14 Climate Change Implication(s)

14.1 There are none arising directly from this report.

15 Health and Wellbeing Implications(s)

15.1 There are none arising directly from this report.

16 Link to Corporate Priorities

16.1 The subject of this report is linked to the delivery of all of the Councils the Corporate Priorities.

17 Communications Plan

17.1 There are none arising directly from this report.

18 Equality and Diversity

18.1 An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) has not been carried out in connection with the proposals that are set out in this report as there is no impact on services directly as a result of the recommendations.

19 Human Resources Implications

19.1 There are none arising directly from this report.

Name of author Ka Ng and Richard Baker Title Corporate Director (Resources, Environment and Cultural Services) and Head of Resources Date 11 February 2020