Published March 17, 2017 at 8:50
Council Tax bills for the year April 2017 to March 2018 are being issued from 15th March 2016 and we wanted to provide some information so that you knew what each part of your bill means.
The Council has to send out a bill for every property in March each year. If you need to contact us about your bill, you will probably find it more difficult than usual to get in touch with us due to the high demand of calls we receive at this time of year, especially in the first few days after the bills begin to arrive, which is expected to be from 17th March.
Here is a guide to the different information which is shown on the main part of the bill –
Please remember that the leaflet which comes with the bill, is legally counted as being part of the bill – you should keep it. It includes explanatory information about council tax which may help you understand how your bill has been worked out.
Here are answers to some of the questions we are most often asked when the bills go out.
Why has my bill gone up?
Your council tax bill is made up of different precepts – tax amounts for different local bodies. These are Lancashire County Council, Rossendale Borough Council, Lancashire Police & Crime Commissioner, the Combined Fire Authority and if you are in Whitworth, the Parish Council.
Some of the organisations have put their part of the tax up this year and some have not. Lancashire Fire Authority and Whitworth Town Council have not put their parts of the council tax up this year. Rossendale Borough Council’s share has gone up for the first time since 2009/10, by 1.99%.
Last year the Government allowed Authorities who are responsible for adult social care (Lancashire County Council for Rossendale) increased their portion of Council Tax by an extra 2%. This shows on the bill separately as ‘LCC adult social care’.
This year, the adult social care element has increased by another 2%
This has resulted in an increase of 3.3% in the Council Tax payable overall
The Governments billing regulations say that the Adult Social Care part of the bill must be shown as a cumulative charge. So, for example, a Rossendale Band D property will show as charge £46.10 which is made up of £22.60 from 20616/17 and £23.45 charge for 17/18 – the overall % increase or this part of the bill will show as 2%.
For more information see: Lancs County Council leaflet
Do I need to set up my direct debit again for this year’s Council Tax?
No. Unless you have cancelled it, your direct debit will continue automatically. Your bill will show your current payment method and instalment dates.
I have told you about a change in circumstances, but it’s not showing on my bill?
The new bills dated 15th March include all changes that were processed up to 2nd March. Amended bills will follow shortly where changes have been made since 2nd March.
Any payments which you have made since 2nd March will also not be shown on the annual bill.
What’s the best way to get in touch about my bill?
If you need to get in touch, you can email us at counciltax@rossendalebc.gov.uk .
You can call us on 01706 217777, but please be aware that around 35,000 council tax and business rates bills have been sent. Phone lines are likely to be very busy for several days.
Where can I get more information?
Answers to some more frequently asked questions can be found at:
www.rossendale.gov.uk/faqs/200028/council_tax
What does Council Tax pay for?
Details of spending in the borough funded by this can be found at:
www.lancashire.gov.uk
www.rossendale.gov.uk/counciltax
www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk/Pages/how-we-are-funded.aspx
www.lancashire-pcc.gov.uk/our-money/budgets/budget-201718