Budget and council tax 2019/20
Hampshire County Council’s council tax continues to be the second lowest of any county council in England
- £1,236.87
- Our 2019/20 Band D council tax
- £21 million
- Government Revenue Support Grant cut in 2019/20
Hampshire County Council’s council tax will increase by 2.99% in 2019/20 and remain the second lowest of any county council in England. The funds raised will be used to help support the services we provide, reducing the impact of grant cuts. What used to be our main general Government grant is being cut to zero this year, a £21 million reduction since last year.
Our focus will continue to be on protecting the services on which Hampshire’s residents depend, particularly for those who most need support. The ageing population means that the number of people with social care needs will further increase. In recent years there has also been a substantial national rise in the number of children requiring care. These are the greatest pressures the council faces, alongside which we will continue to provide a wide range of other services available to all.
In addition to providing these services, we will also be funding improvements to Hampshire’s infrastructure. This includes spending £160 million up to 2021/22 on new and extended school buildings in order to meet the demand for school places. £122 million will be spent on highways maintenance over the next three years, together with £72 million on new transport infrastructure.
You may notice that Hampshire County Council’s total council tax is split into two separate lines on council tax bills. This is because Government legislation requires the adult social care precept (which is the part of council tax used to fund adult social care pressures) to be shown separately. More information about the adult social care precept and how council tax is calculated.
What the budget will be spent on
The services we provide include:
- adult social care
- children’s social care
- concessionary bus travel
- economic development
- libraries
- public health
- road maintenance
- schools
- trading standards
- waste disposal
Council tax amounts for property bands
How the budget is funded
| Item | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
|---|---|---|
| Gross expenditure | £1,976.3m | £1,991.4m |
| Funded by: | ||
| Departmental income | £267.0m | £259.9m |
| Contribution from reserves | £29.3m | £5.0m |
| Interest receivable | £7.6m | £10.4m |
| Dedicated Schools Grant | £747.3m | £764.2m |
| Other Specific Government grants | £173.3m | £192.9m |
| General Government grants | £92.4m | £73.2m |
| Business rates | £46.2m | £46.3m |
| Surplus on collection funds | £4.7m | £3.7m |
| Council tax requirement | £608.5m | £635.8m |
| Results in: | ||
| Hampshire County Council’s Band D Council Tax | £1,200.96 | £1,236.87 |
About this summary
The information on this web page is about the Hampshire County Council part of council tax. Your council tax bill will also include amounts for the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority, the district council and, in many areas, a parish or town council.
Environment Agency levies
Hampshire County Council pays a levy to the Environment Agency to help fund the construction and maintenance of flood and coastal defences.
2019/20 budgets – Southern, Thames and Wessex regional flood and coastal committees
Government information about the adult social care precept
The Government requires all councils with adult social care responsibilities to publish the text below on their council tax information web page. Please note that Hampshire County Council’s adult social care precept has not increased this year.
“The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has made an offer to adult social care authorities. (“Adult social care authorities” are local authorities which have functions under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, namely county councils in England, district councils for an area in England for which there is no county council, London borough councils, the Common Council of the City of London and the Council of the Isles of Scilly.)
The offer is the option of an adult social care authority being able to charge an additional “precept” on its council tax for financial years from the financial year beginning in 2016 without holding a referendum, to assist the authority in meeting expenditure on adult social care. Subject to the annual approval of the House of Commons, the Secretary of State intends to offer the option of charging this “precept” at an appropriate level in each financial year up to and including the financial year 2019-20.”