Agenda item

(a)  That the level of council tax discount in respect of second homes remains at 0%.

(b)  That the level of discount in respect of long-term empty properties remains at 0%.  With the charge of a 50% Empty Home Premium for on properties that have been empty longer than 2 years.

(c)  That the collection rate for the council tax for 2015/16 be set at 98.2% (this is an increase of 0.2% and has been agreed with the Council’s transactional services partner, arvato).

(d)  In accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 2012 the amount calculated by Slough Borough Council as its council taxbase for 2015/16 shall be:

(i)  Parish of Britwell    597.0

(ii)  Parish of Colnbrook with Poyle    1,781.1

(iii)  Parish of Wexham    1,270.3

(iv)  Slough Town  34,814.2

All areas  38,462.6

(e)  That the S151 officer be delegated with responsibility to adjust the taxbase following Cabinet due to any changes in Government guidance around this subject and the Collection Fund figures for distribution.

(f)  That the S151 officer be delegated with responsibility to adjust the taxbase following Cabinet should any new property information become available and the Collection Fund figures for distribution require amendment.

(g)  That the S151 officer be delegated with responsibility to set the Business Rates baseline following consultation with the Commissioner responsible.

(h)  Assumes that the current Council Tax Support Scheme remains unchanged for 2015/16 apart from the uprating for all customers as detailed in section 4.6 and the accompanying Council Tax Support scheme paper.  This includes the approval for the Chief Executive and S151 Officer to make any textual amendments.

The Assistant Director Finance & Audit introduced a report setting out the properties in Slough and their categories of occupation to determine the council taxbase for the borough for 2015-16.

It was noted that the taxbase would rise by 2.9% between 2014-15 and 2015-16 which would partially mitigate against the £14.5m savings requirement due to reductions in government funding.  Commissioners discussed a number of matters including the collection rate for council tax of 98.2%, which was a rise of 0.2% and had been agreed with arvato.  The Cabinet agreed the recommendations as set out in the report.

Resolved –

(a)  That the level of council tax discount in respect of second homes remains at 0%.

(b)  That the level of discount in respect of long-term empty properties remains at 0%.  With the charge of a 50% Empty Home Premium for on properties that have been empty longer than 2 years.

(c)  That the collection rate for the council tax for 2015/16 be set at 98.2% (this is an increase of 0.2% and has been agreed with the Council’s transactional services partner, arvato).

(d)  In accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 2012 the amount calculated by Slough Borough Council as its council taxbase for 2015/16 shall be:

(i)  Parish of Britwell    597.0

(ii)  Parish of Colnbrook with Poyle    1,781.1

(iii)  Parish of Wexham    1,270.3

(iv)  Slough Town  34,814.2

All areas  38,462.6

(e)  That the S151 officer be delegated with responsibility to adjust the taxbase following Cabinet due to any changes in Government guidance around this subject and the Collection Fund figures for distribution.

(f)  That the S151 officer be delegated with responsibility to adjust the taxbase following Cabinet should any new property information become available and the Collection Fund figures for distribution require amendment.

(g)  That the S151 officer be delegated with responsibility to set the Business Rates baseline following consultation with the Commissioner responsible.

(h)  That it be assumed that the current Council Tax Support Scheme remain unchanged for 2015/16 apart from the uprating for all customers as detailed in section 4.6 of the report and the accompanying Council Tax Support scheme report (minute 59 refers).  This included the approval for the Chief Executive and S151 Officer to make any textual amendments.