Council Tax rise for Torbay

Band D properties to go up by three per cent

Residents in the Bay will see their council tax bills rise by an average of £50 next year.

In a meeting to decide its budget for the upcoming financial year, which begins in April, Torbay councillors voted unanimously for the increase. 

The hike per will take council tax for Band D properties up by three per cent to £50 to £1,691 for 2022/2023.  

The increase includes the two per cent rise the council is allowed to make every year. In addition, there will be a one per cent uplift for adult social care. 

The ‘precept’, as it is known, allows ‘upper tier’ councils such as Torbay to keep up with increasing adult social care demands which will not be supported by the 1.25 per cent national insurance increase for at least three years. That money is going to the government to spend on the NHS.

Following decisions made elsewhere, residents will also pay more to Devon and Cornwall’s police and crime commissioner and Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue.

People in Band D properties will have to chip in an extra £12 for these services, a total of £338 over the 2022/23 financial year. 

Twinned with the 1.25 per cent rise in national insurance and escalating costs of living, the increases are likely to make life tougher for many people in the Bay.

Speaking at a recent meeting of the council’s cabinet, councillor Darren Cowell (Independent, Shiphay), deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for finance, said: “We are absolutely committed to putting an arm around people who can’t pay.”

“Not everyone wants to pick up the phone or send an email to the council because they fear a corporate, faceless bureaucracy.

“That’s why we want to continue to work with our partners in the third sector in the community, not least the Torbay Community Helpline, in terms of being able to provide that level of support that is necessary for families and households who are going to continue to struggle.”

Torbay Council (Courtesy: Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporting Service) 

A spokesperson for Torbay Council later said: “The Torbay Community Helpline has been instrumental in providing vital support across Torbay by signposting people to registered debt advice alongside help with mental health and wellbeing.

“We understand the financial pressures many people face with increasing bills, and we are committed to ensuring that those who need support receive it and will work with our partners in the community and voluntary sector.

“Anyone who is struggling financially is encouraged to seek advice or support from either ourselves or our community partners at the earliest opportunity.”

The council is to fund additional debt advice services through Citizens’ Advice, a voluntary organisation that offers advice on legal, debt, consumer and housing issues.

The government has set a limit of two per cent for council tax rises for 2022/23, plus a further one per cent to cover adult social care. Any further increase requires councils to organise a referendum. 

No council in Devon has yet gone to a vote to ask people if they would like to pay more tax.

Adult social care is one of Torbay Council’s biggest responsibilities. It will spend more than £46 million of its £121 million budget on the service.

With budgets stretched for most unitary local authorities across the country, almost all councils are have decided to raise council tax. Plymouth City Council proved an exception, where a controversial council tax freeze for 2022/23 was push through by Labour councillors in the Conservative-run city. 

Torbay Council’s revenue budget will be paid for with £78 million in council tax and £36 million from business rates. 

The government will chip in with a support grant of nearly £7 million, compared to £42 million in 2013/14. The coalition which leads Torbay Council says the authority has lost around £500 million in government support over the past 10 years because of austerity.