How Council Tax is calculated and spent
Our Council Tax requirement
Our Council Tax requirement is the amount which is needed to provide our services after taking into account:
- any transfers to and from reserves
- general government grants
- collection fund transfers.
The Council Tax requirement is met by local taxpayers.
The table on this page shows the amounts we require for 2026-27 with the 2025-26 requirement for comparison purposes.
| 2025-26 (£000's) | 2026-27 (£000's) | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross expenditure (excluding contributions to reserves) | 60,516 | 61,769 |
| Income (excluding contributions from reserves, government support and retained business rates income) | -41,203 | -41,768 |
| Expenditure before contributions to/from reserves | 19,313 | 20,001 |
| Contributions +to/- from reserves | 417 | -2,359 |
| Total net expenditure | 19,730 | 17,642 |
| Retained business rates income | -7,831 | -3,812 |
| Government support (including new homes bonus, COVID-19 funding and collection fund deficit) | -3,020 | -4,672 |
| Council Tax requirement | 8,879 | 9,158 |