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82-490: Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton in the ceremonial county of Hampshire , England. Southampton has had a council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority , being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council ; it is independent from Hampshire County Council . The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. It

164-495: A Mayor of London and 25-member London Assembly . The first mayoral and assembly elections took place in 2000. The former Leader of the Greater London Council , Ken Livingstone , served as the inaugural Mayor, until he was defeated by future Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2008 . The incumbent, Sadiq Khan , was first elected in 2016 . The Mayor's functions include chairing Transport for London , holding

246-468: A non-metropolitan district in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 . It kept the same boundaries (which had last been enlarged in 1967), but the council became a lower-tier district council, with Hampshire County Council providing services to the city for the first time. In 1997, Southampton City Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Hampshire County Council as part of

328-483: A county council and a district council, which would share local authority functions. In May 2022, 21 non-metropolitan county councils and 164 non-metropolitan district councils remain. These are better known as simply county councils and district councils. The Local Government Act 1985 also abolished metropolitan county councils, but there are still 36 metropolitan district councils as of May 2022. There are also (as of April 2023) 62 unitary authorities. These carry out

410-547: A devolution deal, which are usually reserved to combined authorities for additional functions and funding. And, like some combined authorities and parish councils, local authorities do have a general power of competence . Separate to combined authorities, two or more local authorities can also work together through joint boards (for legally-required services: fire, public transport and waste disposal), joint committees (voluntarily) or through contracting out and agency arrangements. The Greater London Authority Act 1999 established

492-413: A dwelling the full tax is payable. If one person resides in the dwelling then 75% is payable. An empty dwelling attracts only a 50% charge unless the billing authority has made a determination otherwise. At the bottom and middle end of the market, Council Tax is a progressive tax based on the value of the property; the higher the value of the property, the higher the amount of tax levied irrespective of

574-431: A full share; to assist individuals sharing with those residents, a rebate ( Second Adult Rebate ) was available, as follows: Council Tax Benefit was a means-tested rebate that potentially rebated 100% of a claimant's Council Tax bill. The rebate would be reduced by a fifth of any qualifying income above a certain level; benefits did not qualify for this calculation, but most other income did. In effect, Council Tax Benefit

656-420: A large shift of properties between bands will cause a shift in the allocation of the charge between bands, and the tax levied for each particular band will then drop, as the total amount collected will remain the same for each authority (see "calculation of amount" above). Between the wholesale revaluations, a major change to a property (such as an extension, or some major blight causing loss of value) can trigger

738-510: A local authority. Ten currently exist, with more planned. Parish councils form the lowest tier of local government and govern civil parishes . They may also be called a 'community council', 'neighbourhood council', 'village council', 'town council' or (if the parish holds city status) 'city council', but these names are stylistic and do not change their responsibilities. As of December 2021 there are 10,475 parishes in England, but they do not cover

820-558: A parish council must meet certain conditions of quality. Civil parishes developed in the nineteenth century and were based on the Church of England's parishes , which until then had both ecclesiastical and local government functions; parish councils were created by the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73). The ecclesiastical parishes continue to exist, but neither they nor their parochial church councils have any local government role. There are 317 local authorities covering

902-553: A proportion of the value of the house, and has therefore been called a "new poll tax for the poor". The valuation of the property is carried out by the Valuation Office Agency in England and Wales and by Scottish Assessors in Scotland. An area that is facing growing attention is the number of households that are falling into arrears with their Council Tax payments. The ordinary route for councils to chase unpaid debts

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984-424: A rebate. Since 2013, explicit Council Tax discounts have been provided, now officially known as Council Tax Reduction schemes, though many councils market them to residents as Council Tax Support ; the choice to market the rules as a tax cut, rather than a benefit, may be an ideological one. . Many local authorities choose to use similar or identical rules to the former statutory rebate schemes, while others took

1066-586: A resident of a property, an individual should have the property as their sole or main residence; case law has established that no single test may be used to determine whether this condition is met. As part of the National Fraud Initiative, every other year, the Audit Commission analyses metadata deriving from Council Tax accounts together with the full electoral register to produce lists of people it believes should be subjected to an investigation on

1148-492: A revaluation to a new estimate of the value the property would have reached if sold in 1991. If such a change would result in an increase in value, then re-banding will only take effect when the property is sold or otherwise transferred. In England , the Council Tax bands are as follows: In Wales , the bands were re-set on 1 April 2005 by the then National Assembly for Wales , based on 2003 valuations. In addition to revising

1230-658: A third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. The wards are: The council is based at the Civic Centre , which was purpose-built for the council in phases between 1928 and 1939. Local government in England Civil parishes are the lowest tier of local government, and primarily exist in rural and smaller urban areas. The responsibilities of parish councils are limited and generally consist of providing and maintaining public spaces and facilities. Local authorities cover

1312-499: A total Band D Council Tax bill. To calculate the Council Tax for a particular property, a ratio is then applied. A Band D property will pay the full amount, whereas a Band H property will pay twice that. Note there is no upper limit for band H. This means that in reality, someone who lives in a multimillion-pound mansion will pay three times more than someone in a bedsit, which falls into Band A. The government had planned to revalue all properties in England in 2007, which would have been

1394-549: A whole has limited revenue-raising powers compared to other G7 countries. In the 20th century, local authorities found that the costs of providing services exceeded the revenues raised from local taxes and so grants from the UK Government (specifically the Treasury ) gradually increased. However, UK Government grants were cut by 40% in real terms between the financial years 2009/10 and 2019/20, although grant income did grow due to

1476-481: Is a public interest in disclosing information about local government investments which will generally outweigh any concerns about whether disclosure could affect an investment's performance or be protected by confidentiality requirements. Local authorities cannot borrow money to finance day-to-day spending and so must rely on yearly income or reserves for this type of expenditure, although they can borrow to fund capital expenditure. Local government in England as

1558-609: Is a devolved matter, the Barnett Formula leads the Scottish Government to acquire funding somewhat in accordance with central government priorities. Subsequently, by 2013, the Scottish Government froze Council Tax rates for the fourth time. Some dwellings are automatically exempt from Council Tax liability; these are officially organised into a number of distinct classes. Most of these exemption classes only apply when

1640-427: Is also a founding member of the 'Key Cities' group. It is a lobbying group of 24 other cities across Great Britain, formed in 2013, that lobbies the government for greater devolution and funding The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: Lower-tier non-metropolitan district Unitary authority The role of Lord Mayor

1722-406: Is based at Southampton Civic Centre . Southampton was an ancient borough , with the earliest known borough charter dating from 1154. Southampton City Council has records in its archives of council meetings as early as 1199. The borough was led by a mayor from the 13th century. In 1447 the borough was given the right to appoint its own sheriff which made it a county corporate , removing it from

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1804-479: Is calculated by adding together the number of properties in each band and multiplying by the band ratio. So 100 Band D properties will count as 100 nominal Band D properties, whereas 100 Band C properties will count as 89 nominal Band D properties. Each collecting authority then adds together the Band D amounts for their area (or subdivisions of their area in the case, for example, of civil parish council precepts) to reach

1886-517: Is clear both practically and democratically that the overly centralised arrangements of government in England are problematic" and that reform was also needed of funding structures. As of May 2024, the various combined authorities, county, district, and sui generis councils formed an administrative hierarchy as shown in the table below. Unitary authorities are legally either district councils which also perform county functions or county councils which also perform district functions; they therefore straddle

1968-455: Is collected by the local authority (known as the collecting authority ). However, it may consist of components (precepts) levied and redistributed to other agencies or authorities (each known as a precepting authority ). The Valuation Tribunal Service has cleared up many previous doubts regarding the exact nature of Council Tax and states that: The tax is a mix of a property tax and a personal tax. Generally, where two or more persons reside in

2050-577: Is disregarded if they are: A fixed discount, currently set at 25%, is available when there are fewer than two residents; this is known as the Single Person Discount . Though it is often concluded that the full Council Tax charge must, therefore, be based on two or more adults being resident at a property, this is not strictly true. Some people are automatically disregarded when counting the number of residents for this purpose, such as full-time students. The legislation also provides that, to count as

2132-706: Is largely ceremonial in Southampton, with a different councillor usually being appointed to the role each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1996 have been: Following the by-election in Shirley in 2024 the composition of the council was: The next election is due in May 2026. Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council comprises 51 councillors representing 17 wards , with three councillors being elected for each ward. Elections are held three years out of every four, with

2214-424: Is no county council, the joint boards are precepting authorities. There may be precepting authorities for special purposes that cover an area as small as a few streets or as large as an entire county. These all set their precepts independently. Each of the levying authorities sets a precept (total amount) to be collected for households in their area. This is then divided by the number of nominal Band D properties in

2296-455: Is the regional authority for Greater London , with responsibility for transport, policing, fire and rescue, development and strategic planning. Combined authorities are statutory bodies which allow two or more local authorities to voluntarily pool responsibilities and negotiate a devolution deal with the UK Government for the area they cover, giving it powers beyond those typically held by

2378-621: Is to apply to a magistrates' court for a liability order. If a liability order is granted, the council can undertake enforcement action. In 2014–15, the court and administration costs in relation to Council Tax debt increased by 17%. The collecting authorities are the councils of the districts of England , principal areas of Wales and council areas of Scotland , i.e. the lowest tier of local government aside from parishes and communities. The precepting authorities are councils from other levels of local government such as county or parish councils and other agencies. In metropolitan counties where there

2460-417: The 1990s UK local government reforms . The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Southampton covering the same area as the existing district, but with no separate county council; instead the existing city council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore had the effect of restoring the city council to the powers it had held when Southampton

2542-611: The 2008 financial crash and the Great Recession the then city council, under the administration of the Conservative Party , began a process of privatisation of council services. From 2017 the Labour administration had begun a process taking municipal control of services that were privatised, so that all profits are reinvested into council services. These services were set up and the Southampton "Local Authority Trading Company" (LATCo)

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2624-549: The COVID-19 pandemic . Local government receives two types of grants: the Revenue Support Grant, which can be spent on any service according to the wishes of the local government body in question, and specific grants, which are usually 'ring fenced' to specifically defined service areas. Council tax was introduced in 1993 to replace the ' poll tax '. It is a domestic property tax, based on eight bands (A to H) depending on

2706-687: The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Commissioner to account and keeping strategies up to date, including the London Plan . Meanwhile, it is the Assembly's role to regularly hold the Mayor and their key advisers to account and it can also amend the budget or a strategy by a two-thirds majority, though this has not ever happened as of March 2022. Combined authorities can be created at

2788-542: The Localism Act 2011 . In every area, one local authority acts as the billing authority (the district council in two-tier areas), which prepares and collects council tax bills. Other parts of local government (like county councils in two-tier areas, police and crime commissioners, fire authorities, parish councils and combined authorities) act as precepting authorities, which notify the relevant billing authority of their decision on council tax and later receive this money from

2870-612: The South Hampshire area, including Southampton , Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight which would include the potential for a combined authority mayor. This program was controversial, and was finally blocked by Hampshire County Council in 2017. There continues to be interest in partnership between Southampton City Council, Eastleigh Borough Council and neighbouring components of other Hampshire districts ( New Forest District Council and Test Valley Borough Council ). Southampton City Council

2952-531: The south east region. The council remains a member of the South East England Councils . Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is chaired by several businesses, universities and councils including Southampton City Council and primarily focuses on economic growth in the Hampshire region. The Solent LEP's Growth Hub is based in Southampton. There was an ambition to create a combined authority for

3034-623: The sui generis City of London Corporation . The other sui generis local authorities are the Council of the Isles of Scilly , Middle Temple and Inner Temple . Outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly , the Local Government Act 1972 divided England into metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, which would have one county council and multiple district councils each. That meant that each area would be covered by two tiers of local authorities - both

3116-424: The Council Tax bill, Council Tax Benefit was reduced so that it only covered the claimant's hypothetical portion of the Council Tax bill. However, no reduction was imposed if the claimant or their partner needed substantial care; this qualification was met if, and only if, the claimant was: No contribution was expected from non-dependants who would themselves qualify for Council Tax benefit, were not counted towards

3198-559: The Electoral Commission has recommended that all authorities use whole council elections every 4 years. Local authorities have a choice of executive arrangements under the Local Government Act 2000 : mayor and cabinet executive, leader and cabinet executive, a committee system or bespoke arrangements approved by the Secretary of State. As of April 2023, just 15 local authorities have directly-elected mayors . Some functions are just

3280-521: The Labour Party as of 2024 except for Tees Valley . Each combined authority's executive consists of a representative from each of its constituent local authorities, plus (if applicable) the mayor. Functions can be devolved directly to the mayor, to the combined authority as a whole, or have a different decision-making requirement. The budget and functions of each combined authority can be vastly different, but possible functions include responsibility for

3362-622: The Secretary of State the power to provide for a directly-elected combined authority mayor . And, as of May 2022, nine out of the 10 combined authorities have mayors, including Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Andy Street in the West Midlands . In the 2024 local elections , new Combined Authorities were elected; they were the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority , North East Mayoral Combined Authority , East Midlands Combined County Authority . They are all controlled by

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3444-405: The agreement of the relevant local authorities, and under the Localism Act 2011 eligible parish councils can be granted a " general power of competence " (GPC) which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this

3526-485: The authority's area (county, district, national park, etc.) to reach the Band D amount. In general terms: The occupiers of a property are liable, regardless of tenure, or the owners if the property is unoccupied, except if the property is a house in multiple occupation , in which case the landlord is liable for paying the Council Tax. Each dwelling is allocated to one of eight bands coded by letters A to H (A to I in Wales) on

3608-508: The band boundaries upwards, an extra band was added. In Scotland , the current bands are Due to the different make-up of each council area, Council Tax rates can vary quite a bit between different local authorities. This is less noticeable in parts of the country like Scotland, where band D rates in 2011 varied from a low of £1,024 (in the Western Isles) to a high of £1,230 (in Aberdeen), but

3690-444: The basis of its assumed capital value (as at 1 April 1991 in England and Scotland, 1 April 2003 in Wales). Newly constructed properties are also assigned a nominal 1991 (2003 for Wales) value. Each local authority sets a tax rate expressed as the annual levy on a Band D property inhabited by two liable adults. This decision automatically sets the amounts levied on all types of households and dwellings. The nominal Band D property total

3772-407: The basis that there is a risk that a discount is being received when an adult who does not fail to be disregarded is actually resident in the dwelling. If a property has been adapted to meet the needs of a disabled occupant, then, after applying in writing, and provided the adaptations are of a certain extent, the property will be rebanded to the band immediately below its normal Council Tax band. If

3854-430: The bill being delivered to the claimant, effectively creating a discount. However, the schemes were administered by the local authority responsible for producing the relevant Council Tax bill. Though the funding was provided by central government, the Council Tax bill it rebated was paid to the local authority. Originally using paper application forms, local authorities began to use a telephone-based application process, in

3936-529: The billing authority. Between financial years 2009/10 and 2021/22, council tax rates increased by 30% in real terms, in light of reduced grants from the UK Government. Business rates is a tax on business premises. It is based on the rateable value of the premises (set by the Valuation Office Agency ) and a business rate multiplier. It is set and collected by billing authorities. Reforms in 2013 now mean that local authorities keep 50% of business rate revenues raised locally. The UK Government then distributes

4018-474: The change; so far only one council has invoked such a referendum, but many have raised Council Tax as close to the cap as they can get without passing it (for example, by 2.99%). This limit, combined with falling grants from central government due to austerity policy, has led councils to have a real-terms cut in spending power of more than 10% in 2021–22 compared to 2009–10, which has inevitably led to service reductions and cuts. Although local government policy

4100-469: The council launched its own not-for-profit energy company 'CitizEn', created with the ambition to offer competitive rates for energy to tackle fuel poverty in the city. The company was set up in cooperation with Nottingham City Council ’s company Robin Hood Energy. The council is currently in talks with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council for them to become a partner in the scheme. In response to

4182-425: The county and district columns. Metropolitan districts and London boroughs are also shown straddling the county and district columns. In much of the country there is also a lower tier of civil parishes . This administrative hierarchy differs from the ceremonial hierarchy . Council Tax Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property , which

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4264-506: The effect can be more pronounced in parts of England. For example, the 2018 rates in London had this sort of distribution: Under the Labour government of Tony Blair , average Council Tax rates rose dramatically above inflation. The subsequent Coalition government made an effort to get councils to freeze Council Tax rates, gradually eroding the above inflation increases via ordinary inflation. This

4346-632: The entirety of England, and are responsible for services such as education, transport, planning applications, and waste collection and disposal. In two-tier areas a non-metropolitan county council and two or more non-metropolitan district councils share responsibility for these services. In single-tier areas a unitary authority , London borough , or metropolitan borough provides all services. The City of London and Isles of Scilly have unique local authorities. The London boroughs, metropolitan boroughs, and some unitary authorities collaborate through regional authorities. The Greater London Authority (GLA)

4428-576: The financial year 2019/20, local authorities received 22% of their funding from grants, 52% from council tax and 27% from retained business rates. In the financial year 2023/24, 51% of revenue expenditure is expected to come from UK Government grants, 31% from council tax and 15% from retained business rates. Local government can also receive some money from fees and charges for the use of services, returns and interest from investments , commercial income, fixed penalty notices and capital receipts. The Information Commissioner's Office has ruled that there

4510-524: The first revaluation since 1993, but in September 2005, it was announced that the revaluation in England would be postponed until "after the next election". At the same time, the terms of reference of the Lyons Inquiry were extended and the report date pushed out to December 2006 (subsequently extended to 2007). In Wales, tax bills based on the property revaluations use 2003 prices issued in 2005. Because of

4592-689: The functions of both county and district councils and have replaced two-tier local government in some areas. The creation of these first became possible under the Local Government Act 1992 , but now takes place under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . In the 2023/24 financial year, 33% of budgeted service expenditure across local government as a whole is set to be on education , 19% on adult social care , 13% on police , 11% on children's social care and 24% on all other services. Notably, Cornwall Council has been subject to

4674-711: The incorporation of 300 jobs under the council's LATCo. Southampton had sent a representative to the South East England Regional Assembly during its existence between 1998 and 2010. Created by the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998 and based in Guildford , the voluntary assembly met six times a year and was responsible for the South East England Development Agency , a project which oversaw investment projects in

4756-595: The jurisdiction of the Sheriff of Hampshire . In 1836, Southampton was reformed to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. It was then governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Southampton', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Southampton

4838-511: The last few years of the rebate schemes. Under these latter application schemes, claimants would often contact the responsible central government department (for example, by making a benefit claim ), who would then forward the details to the local authority. Many individuals share their dwelling with members of separate households, who would ordinarily be expected to pay a share of the Council Tax bill. However, in some cases, it would not be reasonable to expect those other residents to be able to pay

4920-418: The lord mayor. Southampton is one of only fifteen towns and cities across England and Wales which retain the right to appoint their own sheriff. The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, Southampton is within a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority , Southampton City Council has

5002-436: The number of inhabitants at the property (except the reduction allowed for single tenancy). However, there is only one band for properties valued (in 1991 or, for those built later, the value they would have had then) above £320,000, and so the tax stops increasing after this point. Therefore, the tax has been criticised for being disproportionate, with those in more expensive houses not paying as much as those in smaller houses as

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5084-468: The opportunity to levy a small level of tax on people with low incomes. In particular people in receipt of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit (or who would meet the same qualifying rules) must continue to receive a 100% discount (that is, a Council Tax bill of £0). Historically, a number of statutory Council Tax rebates existed. These were applied to the Council Tax account in advance of

5166-523: The people within government are unsure at times where powers and responsibility, and hence accountability, rest, this lack of clarity is magnified for individuals who have little knowledge or experience of the structures. This has the potential to leave individuals less likely to be able to access what they need from government, leaving them often unable to know who is responsible, and as a result are not properly able to hold their democratic representatives to account. The Committee also said that "[t]he evidence

5248-473: The powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates , it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for housing , waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority , responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. In August 2018

5330-428: The property is completely unoccupied; these are as follows: The remaining exemption classes apply not only when the property is unoccupied, but also when certain categories of people are living there: Other classes existed historically and are no longer mandatory. Councils may still offer 100% discount; some discount or no discount at all at their discretion. Once a property has been vacant for over 2 years, they have

5412-548: The property was in the lowest Council Tax band, it will be placed into a Band Z (the band below A). Under the Welfare Reform Act 2012 , local councils were given powers to create new deduction rules for their Council Tax. As these rules replace the former statutory rebate schemes, the Act has also restricted the councils from increasing, by more than a certain amount, the net Council Tax bill for any individual who previously received

5494-773: The relevant police force and/or fire brigade , bus franchising and spatial strategy. Lower-tier of a two-tier system. Upper-tier of a two-tier system. De facto unitary authorities since abolition of metropolitan county councils . Metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986 and most of their functions were devolved to the metropolitan boroughs making them unitary authorities in all but name. Some combined and regional authorities may assume responsibility for policing, e.g. South Yorkshire . Some combined and regional authorities may assume responsibility for policing, e.g. Greater Manchester . In England, local authorities have three main sources of funding: UK Government grants, council tax and business rates . In

5576-469: The remaining 50% of business rate revenues according to its own judgement. It was initially planned to increase the proportion of business rates that local authorities retain to 100%, but this was indefinitely delayed in 2021. In 2022, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee said that it had "significant concerns about the current governance arrangements for England": If

5658-520: The request of two or more local authorities. Combined authorities do not replace the local authorities in question, but can receive separate functions and funding. As of May 2022, there are 10 combined authorities covering some of England. The Secretary of State was first granted the power to create combined authorities by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 . The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 gave

5740-503: The responsibility of the executive of a local authority, but local authorities must also have at least one overview and scrutiny committee to hold the executive to account. The London Government Act 1963 established 32 London borough councils. It also established the Greater London Council , covering the whole of Greater London , but this was later abolished by the Local Government Act 1985 . Greater London also includes

5822-484: The right to levy a surcharge of up to an additional 50% on the standard Council Tax rate for the property. All persons normally resident in a property are counted for Council Tax liability. However, certain classes of person are treated as 'disregarded persons'. Such persons do not count towards occupancy. If a property is occupied entirely by disregarded persons then it is taxed as an empty property (50% discount) unless it otherwise qualifies for total exemption. A person

5904-475: The surge in house prices over the late 1990s and early 2000s, more than a third of properties in Wales found themselves in a band higher than under the 1991 valuation. Some properties were moved up three or even four bands with consequent large increases in the amount of Council Tax demanded. Some properties were moved into new Band I at the top of the price range. Only 8% of properties were moved down in bands. However,

5986-479: The tax. Some property is exempt from the tax, and some people are exempt from the tax, while some get a discount. In 2011, the average annual levy on a property in England was £1,196 (equivalent to £1,841 in 2023). In 2014–15, the tax raised enough money to cover 24.3% of council expenditure. Council Tax is difficult to avoid or evade and therefore has one of the highest collection rates of any tax, with in-year collection rates of 97.0% in 2014–15. Council Tax

6068-411: The value of the property on 1 April 1991. Various discounts are set out in law and exist at the discretion of billing authorities. On a yearly basis, local government bodies review and consider whether to increase or decrease the level of council tax to fund their spending plans. The level at which a local authority can increase council tax each year without holding a local referendum is regulated by

6150-560: The whole of England. There are five main types of local authorities: London borough councils , two-tier county and district councils , metropolitan district councils and unitary authorities . Some local authorities have borough , city or royal borough status, but this is purely stylistic. All local authorities are made up of councillors , who represent geographical wards . There are 7,026 wards as of December 2021. Local authorities run on four year cycles and councillors may be elected all at once, by halves or by thirds; although

6232-430: The whole of the country as many urban parishes were abolished in 1974. The only specific statutory function of parish councils, which they must do, is establishing allotments . However, there are a number of other functions given by powers in the relevant legislation, which they can do, such as providing litter bins and building bus shelters . Their statutory functions are few, but they may provide other services with

6314-512: Was a county borough prior to 1974. Southampton remains part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire for the purposes of lieutenancy . In 2022 the city's mayor was granted the additional honorific title of lord mayor following the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours competition. The city council also continues to appoint a sheriff, although the role has lost its judicial functions. It is now a ceremonial position, serving as deputy to

6396-494: Was a rebate for people with low incomes. The claimant could not be awarded both Council Tax Benefit and Second Adult Rebate; only the higher of the two, in relation to the claimant's circumstances, would be awarded. A non-dependant is a person that the claimant is sharing accommodation with but is not a member of their own household (that is, not a partner, dependant, etc.), such as lodgers or joint tenants. Since it would be reasonable to expect non-dependants to contribute towards

6478-420: Was achieved by offering councils large grants in return for freezing their Council Tax rate; for example, in some years these grants were equal to the amount that would have been gained by a 1% Council Tax rise. In addition, the law has been changed, so that councils cannot increase Council Tax by an amount higher than a cap specified by the government (currently 3%), without holding a local referendum to approve

6560-414: Was considered large enough for the existing borough council to also run county-level services, and so it was made a county borough , independent from the new Hampshire County Council . The borough boundaries were enlarged on several occasions. The borough was granted city status on 11 February 1964, after which the corporation was also known as Southampton City Council. Southampton was reconstituted as

6642-582: Was created. Potential areas for the LATCo to cover include: street parking; public transport; adult and children’s transport; fleet services; housing management and operations; street cleansing; waste management; parks and open spaces; and facilities management. In 2018 the council began the process of incorporating services which Capita had provided for the council for 11 years, including "customer services, HR pay, revenues and benefits, procurement, health and safety, print, post room and IT services". This also includes

6724-475: Was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 , replacing the short-lived Community Charge (also known as "poll tax"), which in turn replaced the domestic rates . Each property is assigned one of eight bands in England and Scotland (A to H), or nine bands in Wales (A to I), based on property value, and the tax is set as a fixed amount for each band. The higher the band, the higher

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