What is Council Tax used for?

These pages provide some practical information about council tax, how it is calculated and advice about how to pay.
 
You can also download our Council Tax leaflet which is distributed to every household in the district

 

 Council Tax Leaflet 2012/2013 (PDF, 1600 Kb)

 

The council estimates what the future cost of services will be, offset by the amount of income that will be generated
from Fees and Charges which apply for certain activities. This totals a net budget of £13,244,700 in 2011/12, which
is net of £204,000, a new grant that aims to cover the cost of freezing Council Tax at the 2010/11 level. Government
grant of £5,112,200 for Redistributed Business Rates and Revenue Support Grant will meet part of this with the
remaining £8,132,500 to be met from Council Taxpayers.

The proportion of expenditure met from Government grant has fallen from 66% in 1993/94 to 40% in 2011/12.
This has called for significant savings (in excess of £1.5m) being identified alongside proposals to improve the
income generated from Fees and Charges. The Coalition Government have stated that it expects councils to
implement a zero percent increase to the Council Tax levels which applied in the previous year, 2010/11.

The council’s budget takes account of inflation and increases in its Fees and Charges together with identified trends
in actual expenditure and income levels. Continued low interest rates have significantly affected the budget as have
other effects of the current economic climate notably reduced Planning and Building Control income, and
reimbursement from recycling activities (Recycling Credits).

If there are any other questions you'd like to see answered please contact us
:

Council Tax
South Lakeland House
Lowther Street
Kendal
Cumbria LA9 4UD

Tel: 0845 050 4434

Email: counciltax@southlakeland.gov.uk