Council tax - where the money goes
Council tax allocation by authority
The council tax for 2011/2012 for residents of Lydford has not increased over last year. Even so for a band D property this amounts to some £1,570.67 which is a considerable sum for those on low incomes. Can we be sure our money is always wisely spent?
Information from West Devon Borough Council was used to produce the following breakdown by spending authority:-
| Council Tax Band D 2011/2012 (£) | Council Tax Band D 2010/2011 (£) | Increase on the year before (£) | Percentage increase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devon County Council | 1116.36 | 1116.36 | 0.00 | 0% |
| Devon & Cornwall Police Authority | 156.60 | 156.60 | 0.00 | 0% |
| Devon Fire Authority | 71.77 | 71.77 | 0.00 | 0% |
| Lydford Parish Council | 33.79 | 34.13 | -0.34 | -1.00% |
| West Devon Borough Council | 192.15 | 192.15 | 0.00 | 0% |
| Totals | 1,570.67 | 1,571.01 | -0.34 | -0.02% |
What the figures mean
The bulk of the money goes to Devon County Council who fund schools, highways and social services. West Devon Borough Council only take 12.2% of the total a band D household will pay in council tax for 2011/2012 despite providing essential services such as refuse collection, planning and Environmental Health.
The amount each Lydford household has to pay towards the parish council precept has actually dropped for 2011/2012 but only by 34 pence. It still seems a high price for very little in return. The 'saving' made by cutting the parish contribution to the opening of the public conveniences during winter months seems to have made very little difference to the level of parish precept.
With grass cutting the winter opening of the public conveniences were the only tangible services provided by Lydford Parish Council. This lack of tangible services should be a matter of concern to anyone who feels that tax payers should get value for money. Whilst it may be great fun for the councillors of Lydford Parish to spend over six thousand pounds of public money they do precious little that is of real value to the ordinary residents. Would we notice any difference if we did not have a parish council at all? Probably not. Almost all of the money is spent on administration and running costs.
At a time when central government is looking to cut expenditure dramatically it seems incredible that organisations such as LPC are permitted to continue to use public money for so little return in terms of genuinely useful services. Not all parish councils are like LPC and some undoubtedly do a great job. It also seems likely that there are others (one wonders how many) like LPC whose running costs are out of all proportion to any value gained by the community
Return to top of pageLPC budget
The figures given below are based on information supplied by Lydford Parish Council.
| 09/10 (£) | 10/11 (£) | 11/12 (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | |||
| Grass cutting grant | 140 | - | - |
| Vat recovered | 200 | 247 | 0 |
| Interest | 20 | - | - |
| Burial grant | 84 | 84 | 84 |
| Precept | 6150 | 6300 | 6300 |
| Total Income | 6594 | 6631 | 6384 |
| Payments | |||
| Room hire | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Grass cutting | 153 | 153 | 162 |
| Clerk (salary + SLCC) | 3550 | 3500 | 3510 |
| Clerk fixed expenses | 360 | 300 | 300 |
| Stationery | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Postage | 50 | 50 | 80 |
| Audit fee (external) | 175 | 175 | 141 |
| Audit fee (internal) | 40 | 60 | 44 |
| General admin | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Insurance | 450 | 500 | 550 |
| S137 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Toilets | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Training | 150 | 50 | 50 |
| Elections | 200 | 0 | 0 |
| DAPC | 76 | 78 | 78 |
| Bounds | 200 | - | - |
| Mileage | 200 | 170 | 170 |
| Web site | 180 | 170 | 170 |
| Contingency | 250 | 500 | 500 |
| Grants | 240 | 500 | 200 |
| Total payments | 6594 | 6526 | 6275 |
Of course the above figures are for the budget not actual expenditure. Previous attempts to discover just what the money is actually spent on have not proved particularly useful. Of course the accounts are audited, both internally and externally, but one can not help but feel that it should be possible for any parishioner to discover just where the money goes.
It would be useful to have a little more information on some of the categories. The largest category, the clerk's salary, is self explanatory but what of "Clerk fixed expenses"? "Insurance" might seem obvious and indeed necessary until one thinks about it a little more and wonders just what is being insured here that justifies the £550 cost. How about "Contingency"? Of course the term means a sum to cover unexpected expenses but for a council which provides so little in the way of services why would they need a contingency at all let alone £500 worth?
Return to top of pageLPC assets
Perhaps this section should be called the magically appearing parish council assets. In December 2008, when questions were being asked about just why LPC were so keen to support the replacement of the existing sewage works by a new one in a different location (see Lydford sewage works), the parish council minutes contained a statement:-
"Lydford Parish Council currently owns no property at all, and its assets are limited to a single filing cabinet."
The LPC Annual Return, a document sent to the Audit Commission, records fixed assets on 31st March 2009 of some £9124. Oddly these assets don't seem to include the filing cabinet mentioned in LPC's statement. It seems more likely that the document sent to the Audit Commission contains the correct information which leaves the question why was the incorrect information put in the statement attached to the minutes (assuming the assets were not all acquired in a three month period)?
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