Council tax

Among the lowest council tax in the Midlands

• Our budget proposals for 2024/25 recommend increasing council tax by 4.99%, which will equate to an extra £1.09 per week for a Band B property, the average home in Telford and Wrekin.
   
• The increase will raise £4m and every extra pound we raise will go into social care, supporting the most vulnerable adults and children in our borough – a service that accounts for three quarters of our annual revenue budget (more than £7 in every £10 the council spends) and one which has seen huge increase in demand and costs over the last few years.

A graph showing that more than 70% of the council’s revenue spend goes to social care

• Despite our lobbying, government funding to support local services has been slashed over the last few years and local authorities like us have been left to care on our own.
   
• For example, in 2013 the government grant made up 70% of the money we had available to spend on delivering vital local services. By 2023, this amount had dropped to just 18%.

Two graphs showing the cut in government grant funding as a percent of the council’s total revenue budget, from 70% in 2013 to 18% in 2023

• Balancing the books is proving increasingly difficult for all councils across the country, and this year we have had to make some difficult decisions.
   
• Even after the proposed 4.99% increase, Telford & Wrekin Council is expected still to have one of the lowest levels of general council tax in both the Midlands and amongst Unitary Authorities in England. This will be the first rise in two years, after we froze general council tax for 2022 and 2023.

A comparison bar chart showing the average yearly cost of Band D council tax for all Midlands authorities during 2023 - 2024

Download the full budget papers

Consultation

To share your feedback on these proposals, please email yourviewsmatter@telford.gov.uk by 4 February 2024.

This consultation period has now ended.

Support

Find out what council tax support is available.

Last updated: 01/08/2024 00:26