Council thanks residents for supporting vital local services

South Cambridgeshire councillors have thanked residents for their support of vital frontline services – after the District Council was named the joint top District Council nationally for collecting Council Tax.

Government figures show South Cambridgeshire District Council collected 99.2% of the Council Tax funds it was due to in the 2022/23 financial year – helping fund social care, bin collections, police and fire services, schools, support to prevent homelessness and much more.

Across England, the total collection rate when considering all councils was 96.8%.

By 31 March 2023, the Council had collected a total of £135,293,000 during the previous 12 months. As a result, South Cambridgeshire District Council is the joint top performing District Council out of almost 320 tax-collecting authorities in England. 

South Cambridgeshire District Council collects Council Tax on behalf of the Police, Fire Service, County Council, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and Parish and Town Councils.

Only around 9% of residents’ annual Council Tax bill goes towards services which the District Council provides – like emptying bins, determining planning applications and homelessness support. The rest is passed to the organisations mentioned above.

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Lead Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr John Williams, said: “We’re hugely grateful to South Cambridgeshire residents for doing their bit to keep important local services running. Although residents will see our logo on the top of their Council Tax bills – we only actually keep a small amount of it. The rest we collect to pass on to other local government bodies and emergency services. For the average band D house, South Cambridgeshire District Council only retains £165 a year from the whole Council Tax bill. This is one of the lowest charges in the country, yet still goes towards a huge range of important services which we run – such as bin collections, environmental health, housing advice and support, benefits administration, and planning functions.

“We are however very aware of the ongoing cost of living crisis and continue to do all we can to support residents. We will always do our best to help those who need assistance help paying their Council Tax bills; we can arrange plans to spread payments, for example. The most important thing any resident who is concerned about their Council Tax bill can do is to talk to us as early as possible. There may be financial support available – such as through our Localised Council Tax Support Scheme for those eligible.”

The Government figures also show that South Cambridgeshire District Council collected 98.2% of the Business Rates that it was due to collect from local companies during the 2022/23 financial year – a total of £92,053,000.

Support is available if residents are struggling to meet Council Tax payments. Visit the South Cambridgeshire District Council website for details. South Cambridgeshire residents can also sign-up to receive their Council Tax bill online.

This year the Council sent out over 63,000 Council Tax letters by post at a cost of nearly £33,500. Registering for an online account would help the Council spend more on vital services rather than paying for postage.

During the registration process you’ll be asked if you’d like to receive bills and notifications by email. There are many benefits to receiving your bill electronically. You will receive your bill on the same day that it is generated, and your bill cannot get lost in the post. Also, you can save a copy of your electronic bill to your device so that it doesn’t get lost or misplaced. You have a PDF copy to show organisations too, for proof of address if needed throughout the year.

See the Government website for a full breakdown of the Council Tax and Business Rates collection rates – and specifically ‘Table 6: Council tax and non-domestic rates - collection amounts and rates, 2021-22 and 2022-23’