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25
Jan
Explained: How much will you pay in council tax this year?
In April, people across the Harrogate district will be greeted by the sound of council tax demands being posted through their letterboxes.
Public authorities including North Yorkshire Council, North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service are currently drawing up budget plans for the 2025/26 financial year.
Included in those proposals are tax demands from each of us to help pay for their services.
So, how much can we expect to pay this coming year? The Stray Ferret has the full details below in our Q/A.
How much will I pay in council tax this year?
It will come as no surprise to anyone that council tax is expected to increase again this year.
North Yorkshire Council, North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service have all proposed increases in their share of rates.
In addition to this, the newly formed Harrogate Town Council will levy a precept on ratepayers.
While some of the budget proposals are yet to be formally approved, the proposals from each of the authorities suggest that a Band D property in Harrogate would pay £2,380.51 in 2025/26 — a 6.4% increase on last year.
This includes:
- North Yorkshire Council - £1,939
- North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue - £107.92
- North Yorkshire Police - £320.86
- Harrogate Town Council - £12.73
In other areas of the district, the overall figure would vary depending on the precept set by the local parish council.
Why is council tax being increased?
Each of the authorities have given different reasons for the planned hikes.
Senior councillors on the Conservative-run North Yorkshire Council have pointed to the Labour government’s funding settlement, saying it was awarded “the fourth worst core funding settlement in the country” behind Herefordshire, Rutland and Shropshire.
This included the loss of a £14.3 million rural delivery grant and an increase in National Insurance contributions, which has left the council with a budget deficit of £5 million.
Cllr Carl Les, leader of the council, defended the increase and said the move would help to counter the deficit. He said:
We are acutely aware that all of our communities are feeling the impact of the cost of living, and we certainly do not want to compound those pressures.
However, we are now faced with a council tax rise of 4.99% to help to counter the multi-million pound shortfall which we are facing in the council’s budget for the next financial year. If we don’t push ahead with the 4.99% increase, the financial deficit will be even worse.
The government has pledged to conduct a review of local government funding, and I would urge ministers to ensure that there is a fair deal for all local authorities, whether they are responsible for large rural areas such as ourselves or towns and cities.
Meanwhile, the responsibility for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s precept now falls on the Labour Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith.
Labour mayor David Skaith has proposed increasing the fire service precept by 30%.
Justifying the increase, the mayor said he inherited a fire service facing a challenging financial position that needed investment.
He also pointed to a freeze in council tax increases between 2011 and 2014 which meant the service lost out on around £21 million.
Mr Skaith added that the increase — which amounts to a £24 hike on last year — was necessary to put the service on a secure financial footing.
Elsewhere, the mayor’s office said the planned £14 increase in the police precept would match the organisation’s inflationary pressures and help to maintain “current levels of service delivery”.
Meanwhile, the Harrogate Town Council share of taxation forms part of the new authority’s first budget which was agreed in November 2024.
When will the increases be agreed?
Each of the authorities are expected to formally agree the increases in council tax in February.
North Yorkshire Council will host a full council meeting in Northallerton to approve its budget, which includes its council tax rise.
Meanwhile, both the police and fire precepts are expected to be agreed at a York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority meeting on February 7.
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