How council tax was calculated for 2019/20

Government legislation requires Hampshire County Council’s total council tax to be split into two separate lines on council tax bills: 

• most is shown on the main 'Hampshire County Council' line
• the council tax which is dedicated to funding adult social care pressures is shown on a separate line called the 'Adult social care precept'

The council tax increase for the County Council is calculated using our total amount of council tax (i.e. the main 'Hampshire County Council' line plus the 'Adult social care precept' line).

The worked example below sets out the calculations. The amounts used in the example are for a Band D property.

Hampshire County Council’s council tax increased in 2019/20 by 2.99%. The funds raised from this increase were used to help resource all of the services the county council provides, so the increase was all shown on the main Hampshire County Council line.

The presentation on council tax bills, including how the percentage increases are shown, is required by Government legislation and is being used throughout England. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for the legislation. Hampshire County Council, along with many other councils, has raised concerns with the Ministry that the legislation results in bills which are not as clear as we would like them to be. It would be preferable to just show one total amount on bills for Hampshire County Council, especially as a large amount of all our council tax revenue is used to fund social care, but unfortunately the legislation does not permit us to do this.