What It Pays For

Council Tax is collected to pay for a number of local services.

We collect Council Tax to pay for local services such as:

schools
emergency services
bin and recycling collections
roads and street lights
libraries
planning services
adult social care

Some of these services are provided by other authorities so your Council Tax includes payments to Gloucestershire County Council, Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire and if your property is in Quedgeley, to Quedgeley Town Council.

Spending plans for Gloucester City Council

Council Tax is the main source of locally-raised income for this council and is used to meet the difference between the amount we wish to spend and the amount we receive from other sources such as business rates and government grants.

In setting the level of Council Tax, we've kept in mind the difficult economic and financial climate that many of our residents face. Our funding from central government has dropped sharply in the period 2010 to 2024, and future funding levels are uncertain. We must consider what level of increase in Council Tax is sustainable, without creating an increased risk of service cuts and/or larger tax increases in the future.

The average Council Tax you'll pay for services provided by us is £230.16 for a band D taxpayer. This is an increase of £6.68 over last year, that's under 13 pence per week.

Budget comparison

Budget requirement	2024/25	2023/24
Service	£	£
Corporate and Democratic Core	354	355
Transformation and Commissioning	3,974	-
Performance and Resources	(6,975)	(3,789)
Cultural and Leisure Services	2,230	2,069
Communities	8,707	8,820
Place	952	871
Total net cost of services	9,240	8,326

Net interest	3,501	3,017
Pension contributions	2,647	3,129
Minimum revenue provision	1,181	1,311

Budget requirement	17,199	15,784
Transfer to reserves	202	104

Funded by:
Business Rates Retention	(7,200)	(6,200)
New Homes Bonus	(811)	(217)
Funding Support Grant	(39)	(314)
Services Grant	(26)	(150)
Revenue Support Grant	(273)	(105)
Council Tax deficit brought forward	-	-

Which leaves Council Tax payers to fund	9,052	8,694

Budget comparison

Budget comparison	£	£
Budget requirement - Prior Year	15,784	14,280
Increased costs and budget pressures	3,411	2,831
Budget efficiencies/income generation	(1,506)	(1,252)
Savings target	(300)	(75)
Budget requirement - Current Year	17,389	15,784

How our budget compares

Our general fund working balance is forecast to be £0.912m at the end for the 2023/24 financial year.

Investment in the future

Our capital investment will fund major regeneration projects, including Kings Square, Kings Quarter as well as continued transformation of council services.