The Director of Finance submitted a report setting out the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Council Tax Base calculation for 2026/27. 

The report noted that the Council was required to calculate a Council Tax Base for its area annually in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base (England)) Regulations 2012 and notify Major Precepting Authorities (the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley and Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service) by 3 January 2026.  The Tax Base for 2026/27 was calculated for the above purposes as being 60,353.38 (band D equivalent) properties which was an increase of 1.32% on the 2025/26 Tax Base of 59,566.99.  The report also set out details of the estimated deficit on the Council Tax Collection Fund balance which was paid out/recoverable by the Collection Fund in full in the following financial year. The estimated balance as at 31 March 2026 on the Council Tax Collection Fund was a projected net deficit of £2.092m of which the Council’s overall share was £1.781m.

The report explained that the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and Local Government Finance Act 2012 had replaced the Council Tax Benefit scheme with a locally determined Council Tax Reduction Scheme (also known as a local Council Tax Support Scheme), which was effectively a type of Council Tax discount. The legislation required the Council to approve a Scheme, including amendments to an existing scheme, by the end of January preceding the start of the financial year. The recommended Scheme for 2026/27 was unchanged from the Scheme agreed by Council for 2025/26.

The report noted that each year the Government amended the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 to ensure that pension-age Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) schemes were updated in line with changes in the wider benefits system. The annual update also provided an opportunity to ensure that the residency requirements for accessing both pension-age and working-age LCTS remained consistent with the UK’s immigration policy. These updates would be incorporated into the Council’s 2026/27 Scheme in accordance with the principles of the Council’s original Local Scheme agreed following consultation in the Summer/Autumn of 2012.

The following motion was moved by Councillor Terry and seconded by Councillor Leng and CARRIED:

Resolved –

(1)       That the existing Council Tax Reduction Scheme be retained for 2026/27;

(2)       That the Tax Base calculation for 2026/27 of 60,353.38 band D equivalent properties be approved;

(3)       That the following be noted:

a)    The assumed Council Tax collection rate of 98.50% for 2026/27;

b)   That the 2026/27 Council Tax Reduction Scheme would be updated in line with the Scheme’s regulations;

c)    That the estimated balance of the Council Tax Collection Fund as at 31 March 2026 was an overall net deficit of £2.092m and that the Council’s overall share of this deficit was £1.781m.