Archived press release

Date Published: 02/03/07

Aylesbury Vale residents will pay an average 4.56 per cent more for the services provided by AVDC, the county council and the police and fire services next year. The district part of the council tax bill was officially confirmed at full council l...

Aylesbury Vale residents will pay an average 4.56 per cent more for the services provided by AVDC, the county council and the police and fire services next year.

The district part of the council tax bill was officially confirmed at full council last night (28 February). Council confirmed a rise of 4.4 per cent for the district part of the bill – this represents an increase of around 10 pence per week for Band D properties.

This rise will put an average Band D bill for district council services up £5.11 to £121.21 – which is below the average charged by the other district councils in the country. In 2006/7 the average district tax charged by AVDC was around £17 less than the national average for district councils.

The total bill for Band D properties in the district for 2007/8, excluding individual parish or town council amounts, is £1,287.76. Whilst AVDC is responsible for the billing and collection of council tax, around 90 per cent goes to the county council, the police and fire services and the town and parish councils.

Buckinghamshire County Council had earlier set its Band D amount at £975.03 (a 4.5 per cent increase), the Thames Valley Police Authority had set its Band D amount at £139.19 (a 4.99 per cent increase) and the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority set its amount at £52.33 (a 4.95 per cent increase).

Every February, AVDC meets to make difficult decisions about how it spends its money during the year to come. In order to be able to continue delivering important services it is often necessary to find savings elsewhere and prioritise areas for investment.

In 2007/8, the council will spend £49 million on services for the people of Aylesbury Vale. Council tax is just one way in which this money is raised. Other sources include government grants, business rates from local companies and fees and charges for services, such as car parks and leisure centres.

This year, the government only increased the amount of general revenue grant that it gives to the council by 2.7 per cent which equates to £269,000, even though inflation on the budget is more than £1 million. This gap in funding puts extra pressure on the council tax payer.

The adopted budget allows the council to continue to deliver a wide range of services, which include refuse collection, recycling, leisure and recreation, planning and environmental health. Priorities for the council over the next year include promoting more affordable housing schemes, maintaining crime reduction and anti-social behaviour activities and extending recycling schemes to help meet government targets.

The council has identified savings and increased income to balance its budget and keep the council tax as low as possible. These include a significant number of efficiency measures across all services.

Councillor Margaret Morgan-Owen, Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “The district’s tax increase for a Band D property is equivalent to about 10 pence per week. We are working within tight financial constraints but have managed to keep the council tax rise as low as possible, make significant savings with no impact on front-line services and still invest in key priorities.

“Although the government argues that it has increased funding to local government overall, you don’t have to be a mathematician to work out that they have dealt Aylesbury Vale a very poor hand. Providing government does not make our grant situation even worse in the future, we believe we now have a sound long term plan that will deliver low council tax increases and still allow us to provide essential services.”