Your Council Tax booklet 2014 15

How the County Council, District Council,Fire and Police Authorities spend your

money - a guide for residents andBusiness Rate payers

South Cambs PAGES_Pages_ 28/02/2014 15:38

2

Introduction

South Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner and the Cambridgeshire &Peterborough Fire Authority do not warrant the accuracy of any description or statement contained in any advertisement herein nor do they

endorse any product or service advertised. Printed on genuine 100% recycled, 100% de-inked paper using vegetable based inks.

Cllr Ray ManningLeader of South Cambridgeshire

District Council

The Council Tax you pay goes towards thecost of providing a wide range of servicesprovided by Cambridgeshire County

Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council,Fire and Police services.

To most people the face of local government isthe face they see at a local level - the librarian,the home help, the refuse collector, the firefighters, police officers and teachers, to namebut a few.

The Councils provide services and support forschools, care for the elderly, maintain the roads,parks and open spaces, recycle rubbish, care forthe environment, offer leisure facilities andprovide affordable housing as well asadministering Housing Benefit and support forCouncil Tax.

At a time of continuing significant financialconstraints and change, we have all workedtogether to produce this booklet, giving you allthe information you need about your CouncilTax for the coming financial year. We hope itwill make understanding your bill much easier.

Sir Graham BrightCambridgeshire Police & Crime

Commissioner

The cost to produce the booklet is subsidised via local advertising.

Martin CurtisLeader of Cambridgeshire

County Council

Sir Peter BrownChairman of Cambridgeshire

and Peterborough FireAuthority

Con

tent

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3

7

17

20

25

31

34

35

47

Council Tax and services

South Cambridgeshire District Council

Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority

Cambridgeshire County Council

Council Tax explanatory notes

Help with your Council Tax and Rent

Non-Domestic Rates explanatory notes

Contact details


3

Your Council TaxHow Council Tax is calculated

Where your money goes

Note: if your parish council has set its owncouncil tax this is shown on pages 10 and 11.This is in addition to the figures below.

South Cambridgeshire District Council is registered asData Controller under the Data Protection Act 1998 forthe purpose of processing personal data in theperformance of its business activities and otherfunctions. Any information held by the Council will beprocessed in compliance with the principles set out in theAct.

The Council has a duty to provide a wide range ofservices to the public including the administration ofcouncil tax. Whilst the Council has a duty for ensuringthe confidentiality of personal data that it holds, it alsohas a duty to protect the public funds it administers. Thismay include sharing information for these purposes bothinternally and externally. For example, in administeringpublic funds or the appointment of collection agenciesresponsible for collecting local taxes on behalf of theCouncil or for data matching. It may also include sharinginformation for other legitimate purposes including theprevention and detection of crime.

Further information about the Data Protection Act isavailable on our website or can be sent to you uponrequest by contacting the Council's InformationManagement Team.

If you have concerns about the processing of personaldata by the Council, or you want to know more aboutyour rights, you can contact the InformationCommissioner's Office, at the following address:Information Commissioner's OfficeWycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AFTel: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45Fax: 01625 524510Or you can access their website at www.ico.gov.uk

Cambridgeshire Police South& Crime Commissioner Fire Authority County Council Cambridgeshire

£m £m £m £m

Gross spendingIncomeNet expenditureGovernment funding

Business RatesNon ring-fenced GrantsRing-fenced GrantsPolice Grant

Internal fundingUse of / addition to Reserves

Council Tax RequirementCouncil Tax at Band D

Total Band D Council Tax £1,490.41

132.9-1.8

131.1

- -6.0-0.4-77.3

-0.247.2

181.35

31.1-2.029.1

-3.5-8.9

--

-16.764.26

752.7-79.3673.4

-57.9-86.9-293.9

-

-234.7

1,121.94

51.23-34.1617.07

-2.87-2.66

--

-4.387.16

122.86


6 Cambridgeshire County Council • Fire

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority• Prevention - promoting fire safety across the county • Protection - minimising risk in businesses through education, engagement and enforcement

• Emergency Response - dealing with more than 10,000 emergencies a year

We spend over £4.5

million onfunding

childcare places for 2-year-old

children fromdeprivedfamilies

The averagecost of

providing anadult aged

over 65 withsocial care this

year will benearly £11,000

It costs over£568,000 a

week todispose ofhousehold

waste inCambridgeshire

It costs around£29,000 to

complete a fullgritting run

It costs £25.38to provide ahealth check

Which services do we provide?Cambridgeshire County Council

Children, Families and Adults• Supporting over 20,000 children aged under 5 registered at our children's centres • Working with more than 250 schools to ensure over 80,000 children receive a high quality education

• Supporting over 3,000 children with statements of special educational need• Providing short breaks for more than 1,000 young people and children with disabilities, including more than 65,000 hours of individual support and around 4,300 overnight stays

• Safeguarding children at risk of harm and supporting vulnerable families to improve their situation

• Looking after children in care, supporting around 500 children at any one time in fosterand residential care and finding adoptive parents

• Providing social care services to over 10,500 people, including caring for over 2,700 people after discharge from hospital

• Caring for over 7,500 people in their own homes, using over 1.8 million hours of care

Economy, Transport and Environment Services• Maintaining 2,800 miles of roads, 2,400 miles of footways, 1,500 bridges and 55,000 street lights

• Investing £1.5 million every year in public transport services where local communities have developed the solution

• Providing for approximately 3.7 million single Park and Ride bus journeys and 3.2 millionjourneys on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway

• Transporting around 15,000 children to school every day • Managing over 300,000 tonnes of waste, of which over 53% is recycled• Attracting external funding to help deliver cultural activities, including £50,000 for sports for disabled; £73,000 for Arts and Wellbeing

• Intervening in rogue trader cases involving over 180 victims and in excess of £500,000• Gritting around 1,300 miles of roads and footpaths in winter weather• Helping 20,000 people benefit from adult learning• Delivering over 60 local highway improvements working with local communities• Welcoming 2.5 million visitors each year to our libraries• Registering 15,000 births, marriages, civil partnerships and deaths

Corporate Services• Handling 450,000 enquiries plus 84,000 non phone contacts• Receiving 2,460,000 unique web site visitors• Managing 900 Freedom of Information Requests and 100 Subject Access Requests

Public Health• Commissioning Health Checks for about 21,000 people• Helping nearly 3,500 people to quit smoking• Commissioning 19,000 appointments to test for and treat sexually transmitted infections• Providing public health advice to the local NHS and the Health & Wellbeing Board• Working with Public Health England to prevent the spread of communicable diseases

Camb CITY Pages_Pages_ 28/02/2014 14:38 Page 6

7South Cambridgeshire District Council • Cambridgeshire Police

Environmental services• Collecting waste and recycling fromapproximately 63,000 homes

• Cleaning streets, dealing with abandonedcars and clearing and investigating flytipping

• Making sure food premises are clean andsafe and making this information available to you

• Advising on and enforcing health andsafety at work

• Dealing with pollution• Licensing taxis, public entertainment andthe sale of alcohol

Housing services• Increasing the supply of affordable homesthrough our own building programme andby working with housing associations

• Managing more than 5,300 Council homes• Providing housing advice and support forhomeless people

Planning services• Considering planning applications, dealingwith development without planningpermission and building control

• Conserving our environment and buildings• Developing planning policy to shape thefuture of the district

New communities• Developing the local economy andsupporting businesses

• Planning for major developments• Promoting local tourism• Supporting sports development andpromoting healthy living

• Working towards a sustainable SouthCambridgeshire

Working with communities, partnersand customers• Promoting community safety• Providing community and voluntary sectorgrants

• Making sure all our customers can accessservices equally, in the best way for them

• Administering local democracy includingelections

Corporate services• Increasing customer access and developingsmarter ways of working throughtechnology and partnerships

• Providing support for those who need helpwith housing and council tax

• Collecting council tax and business rates• Providing support services such asaccountancy and legal

South Cambridgeshire District CouncilWe provide a wealth of services to over 154,000 residents and thousands of businesses acrossmore than 100 villages, including:

Providing all of these services costs an average tax payer £2.36 a week.

For more information please visit www.scambs.gov.uk

Cambridgeshire Police• Reducing crime year on year• Answering more than 17,000 999 calls a month• One of the highest percentages of Officers’ time spent on

frontline duties• Tackling anti-social behaviour in partnership with other agencies.

The CambridgeshirePolice service is one

of the lowestcosting forces

in the UK

South Cambs PAGES_Pages_ 28/02/2014 15:38 Page 7

8 South Cambridgeshire District Council

Further information on the estimated expenditure for 2014/15 is available on the Council's website:www.scambs.gov.uk/content/statement-accounts-and-annual-governance-statement

2014-15 2014-15 2013-14 2013-14Estimated Estimated Estimated EstimatedIncome Income income income

£m % £m %

7.16 14.0% 6.93 13.6%

0.35 0.7% 0.43 0.8%

2.87 5.6% 2.91 5.7%

2.66 5.2% 3.37 6.6%

0.45 0.9% 0.37 0.7%

28.03 54.7% 28.37 55.5%

9.71 18.9% 8.72 17.1%

51.23 100% 51.10 100%

Council Tax

Interest on savings (cash reserves)

Business Rates

Grant from Government

Using up savings

Council Tax & Housing Benefit Grant

Grants, Fees & Charges

TOTAL

Where the money comes from

South Cambridgeshire District Council charges one of the lowest council taxes in the country toprovide a range of services to residents and businesses. However, council tax is only oneelement of the funding we receive.

The table below shows how our budget for next year is made up of money from differentsources, and how it compares to last year.

As shown in the table, the grant we receive from central government has been cut again nextyear. This follows a number of reductions over recent years.


9South Cambridgeshire District Council

Environmental health, street cleaning,recycling, licensing

Planning, conservation, building control& economic development

Developing new communities,sustainability, planning policy &supporting arts

Finance,councillor administration,corporate management, elections,collection of business rates & council tax

Council tax & housing benefit

Housing strategy & non-landlordhousing services

Developing policy & communications

TOTAL

2014-15 2014-15 2013-14 2013-14Estimated Gross Estimated Gross Estimated Estimated

Expenditure Expenditure Expenditure Expenditure£m % £m %

8.28 16.1% 7.96 15.6%

3.84 7.5% 4.05 7.9%

2.28 4.5% 2.10 4.1%

4.57 8.9% 4.45 8.7%

29.41 57.4% 29.61 58.0%

2.28 4.5% 2.12 4.1%

0.57 1.1% 0.81 1.6%

51.23 100% 51.10 100%

Where your money goes

The table below shows how we plan to use the money we have available to deliver services toyou. It compares spending in major service areas this financial year to what we spent last year.

We collect business rates on behalf of the County Council, Police and Fire authorities as well asourselves. The amount shown in the tables is just the District Councils’ part, as we only keepless than 5% of what is collected.

More information about some of the activities we carry out in each service can be found onpage 7.

More detailed information on the estimated expenditure for 2014/15 is available on our website:www.scambs.gov.uk/content/statement-accounts-and-annual-governance-statement



Great Abington 34.18 Little Abington 62.95 Abington Pigotts 0.00 Arrington 73.63 Babraham 80.78 Balsham 64.30 Bar Hill 64.35 Barrington 64.66 Bartlow 0.00 Barton 47.91 Bassingbourn 57.52 Bourn 78.40 Boxworth 25.59 Caldecote 105.50 Cambourne 120.75 Carlton 28.48 Castle Camps 38.20 Caxton 65.50 Childerley 0.00 Chishill 75.40 Comberton 63.33 Conington 0.00 Coton 58.87 Cottenham 106.38 Croxton 62.97 Croydon 27.89 Dry Drayton 33.64 Duxford 61.06 Elsworth 59.30 Eltisley 61.29 Great & Little Eversden 73.74 Fen Ditton 64.54 Fen Drayton 49.92 Fowlmere 63.78

Village Parish Council Tax

Your Council Tax by parish

The table below shows the amount each parish council in South Cambridgeshire has agreedto charge for their proportion of council tax.

Your total bill is made up of the following:Cambridgeshire County Council - £1,121.94South Cambridgeshire District Council - £122.86Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner - £181.35Cambridgeshire Fire Authority - £64.26+The amount your parish council is charging is shown below

All of the figures shown above and in the table are for an average band D property.

All other bands from A- to H can be worked out as a proportion of the band D charge. Forband A- multiply by 5/9, A 6/9, B 7/9, C 8/9, E 11/9, F 13/9, G 15/9 and H 18/9.

Foxton 48.02 Fulbourn 63.21 Gamlingay 123.47 Girton 52.05 Little Gransden 36.86 Grantchester 85.09 Graveley 57.62 Hardwick 56.01 Harlton 59.36 Harston 43.78 Haslingfield 92.87 Hatley 35.47 Hauxton 61.36 Heydon 34.17 Hildersham 118.11 Hinxton 57.26 Histon 87.67 Horningsea 84.79 Horseheath 49.78 Ickleton 71.41 Impington 87.67 Kingston 72.55 Knapwell 36.67 Landbeach 52.23 Linton 95.30 Litlington 61.58 Lolworth 29.07 Longstanton 104.62 Longstowe 45.77 Madingley 69.17 Melbourn 99.33 Meldreth 74.29 Milton 73.98 Guilden Morden 79.58




Steeple Morden 56.53 Newton 30.39 Oakington/Westwick 58.88 Orchard Park 83.81 Orwell 79.06 Over 33.11 Pampisford 67.49 Papworth Everard 82.26 Papworth St Agnes 0.00 Rampton 60.18 Sawston 117.24 Great Shelford 52.17 Little Shelford 74.48 Shepreth 62.87 Shingay-cum-Wendy 27.17 Shudy Camps 35.03 Stapleford 71.15


Are you on our Business Register?

We have set up a new business register to help provide better information and supportto local firms.

If you have not already signed up, do so now to gain access to financing and fundingopportunities, contracts and tenders, updates on key infrastructure or newdevelopments, support for businesses suffering from the economic downturn, awardsand competitions and local business news.

It will also make sure you don’t miss out on being first to know about our subsidisedbusiness skills and networking seminars running throughout the year.

To register please visit www.scambs.gov.uk/businessregister

You can find more information on our website about parish councils who have set abudget above £140,000. Please visit www.scambs.gov.uk/your-council-tax

Have your say - join our consultation panel

Your opinion matters to South Cambridgeshire District Council so we have set up aconsultation panel. This group is a sounding board for us when we ask residents andbusinesses what they think throughout the year.

For further information, and to sign up, visit www.scambs.gov.uk/consultationpanel orcontact Richard May on [email protected] or 01954 713366.

Stow-cum-Quy 46.29 Swavesey 57.69 Tadlow 31.37 Teversham 71.95 Thriplow 31.95 Toft 74.75 Waterbeach 83.40 Weston Colville 41.45 West Wickham 60.38 West Wratting 47.55 Whaddon 81.51 Whittlesford 47.97 Great Wilbraham 87.98 Little Wilbraham 45.48 Willingham 76.54 Wimpole 29.35




Councils up and down the country are facingsome of the toughest challenges ever set asmoney provided to us from centralgovernment to deliver vital services for our communities continues to be cut. South Cambridgeshire District Council is nodifferent.

Following three years of successive cuts in theregion of 25% per year, our governmentgrant now stands at just £2.65 million toprovide services from planning and housing,to benefits and waste and recycling.

Such a dramatic cut in our funding means wewill continue to make sure every penny ofyour money works as hard as possible, butthere is now also the necessity to be moreinnovative than ever before so we can domore for less. Part of these plans meansgenerating income to protect the services youwant and need – such as being one of the firstcouncils to set up a company which will investin housing and deliver returns.

Despite the tough challenges we face, we arepassionate about delivering first class servicesand have set bold and ambitious aims toensure you continue to have a superb qualityof life.

The future

In our new corporate plan for the next fiveyears we have set 12 main objectives thatbuild on our recent achievements.

One of those objectives is to develop ourproperty company pilot scheme into a fullbusiness plan to deliver affordable housingand generate an income. Investments thatgenerate an annual income are vital to givingus the ability to sustain services as far aspossible in the face of cuts to funding. Wehave already agreed to invest £7 million inthe pilot project and the results of this willhelp us see how we can buy, build and sellhomes in the future to generate money toplough back into services for you.

An introduction from Cllr Ray Manning, Leader of SouthCambridgeshire District Council



Our innovative housing company will runalongside our biggest building programme ofnew council houses in two generations. Weknow many people cannot afford to get onthe housing ladder and over the next 30 yearsmillions of pounds will be invested and up to1,000 new council and social rented housingwill be built.

At the end of 2013 four new tenants movedinto the first new council homes as part of ourambitious building programme. Moreprojects to add to the homes at Linton are ontheir way as we look to work with parishcouncils to meet local needs.

Supporting existing businessesand making sure SouthCambridgeshire is anattractive place to set up isalso key for us. Over the lastcouple of years we havehelped more than 100businesses by running freeworkshops to arm them withpractical knowledge and skillsto get started and grow.Feedback from businesses wasexcellent and we are set tocontinue our support to helpfirms create new jobs for you.

Broadband is always a topconcern for firms working in the area andthat’s why we are continuing to work withthe County Council to ensure superfast speedsbecome more available to firms and residentsin their own home. The Connecting

Cambridgeshire project has already seen thefirst exchanges upgraded in the district andmany more will follow this year.

Our thriving economy means our district isone of the fastest growing in the country.New homes in locations such as the new townof Northstowe will mean future generationshave a better chance of living near to wherethey grew up. Making sure quality is put firstso that new and existing communities can besuccessful is at the heart of our plans.

Although we have bold plans we’re notlosing sight of the need to maintain our focus

on the core things we excel atdoing, such as a first classwaste and recycling service.With less funding to provideservices we are looking to seehow we can work better withpartners and make changesthat save money while havinglittle impact on you. In the lastfour years alone we havedriven down the Council’s costsby around £5 million and willcontinue to look forefficiencies.

For more information about our corporateplan please visit www.scambs.gov.uk/council-aims-and-objectives



Council tax payments

The monthly payment amounts and date due are shown on your council tax bill. Thepayment methods available are shown on the back.

Direct debit is a simple, safe and effective way to pay your bill and once set up you can sitback and payments will be automatically collected. Paying by direct debit costs us less toprocess and therefore saves money that we would rather spend on providing services for you.

If you are having difficulty in paying your bill, you should contact us as soon as possible sowe can offer advice. We always try to work with people so you can make payment but willtake appropriate action if needed.

Please remember that if your payments are not received on or before the due date, youwill be issued with a reminder and payment will be due within 7 days. You will only receivetwo reminders during the year. If payment is late on a third occasion the right to pay byinstalments will be lost and the full balance on the account is due. If this is not paid a courtsummons is issued which includes court costs. Where full payment, including costs, is madebefore the court date, there is no further action. If payment is not made, the Council willapply for a Liability Order at the court hearing. This gives the Council further powers tocollect the money.

The majority of council tax payers in South Cambridgeshire pay by direct debit. This can bedone on the 8 or 23 of each month. Monthly installments paid by any other means mustbe received by the 8 of each month.

A direct debit form can be found atwww.scambs.gov.uk/content/ways-pay-your-council-tax

Any Queries?

If you have any queries about your council tax bill, please contact us straight away. Detailsof how to get in touch are shown on the back of your bill and on page 47 of this booklet.



Local council tax support, discounts & exemptions

To help people on low incomes who are not able to pay their bill we have a local counciltax support scheme.

The maximum benefit entitlement for a person of working age is 91.5% of their counciltax charge, meaning they will be asked to pay 8.5%.

Some people of working age are protected from making a contribution if they, or theirpartner, fall into a protected group. National legislation determines some of the protectedgroups but we have also protected more people under our local scheme.

Protected people are:

• People of state pension age or qualify for a discount• Lone parent with a child aged under five• People who are carers (the person must qualify for Carer’s Allowance)• People who receive any element of Disability Living Allowance, Personal IndependencePayment, Carer’s Allowance, or the support component of Employment SupportAllowance.

Some council tax discount and exemption levels are set by us. The following propertieswould have previously been entitled to a discount / exemption, but this changed from 1 April 2013. For 2014/15, the charge due will be as follows:

Property Type

Class C - vacant dwelling, empty andsubstantially unfurnished

Second home

Long-term Empty Homes Premium

Amount

No discount - full charge payable

No discount - full charge payable

50% premium added after two years,creating a charge of 150%


17Cambridgeshire Police & Crime Commissioner

Cambridgeshire’s Police and CrimeCommissioner is elected by you, the public,every four years. He has been in post for 18months.

Police and crime commissioners haveresponsibility for delivering an efficientand effective police service in their area.Commissioners set police and crimeobjectives, the police budget and issuecrime and disorder reduction grantsthrough the Police and Crime Plan.Commissioners hold the police to account,making them answerable to the public.They must also work with other localagencies to ensure there is a joined-upapproach to preventing and reducingcrime.

More information on Cambridgeshire’sPolice and Crime Commissioner is availableby visiting www.cambridgeshire-pcc.gov.uk

Crime prevention and reduction in Cambridgeshire

Building on the historical good work of theConstabulary, the following police andcrime objectives will continue to form thebasis of efficient and effective policing inCambridgeshire in the year ahead:

• Maintaining local police performance• Delivering policing in Cambridgeshire

within the available budget• Continuing to tackle crime and disorder

including anti-social behaviour and burglary

• Keeping people safe• Maintaining the resilience of

protective services

An important part of policing inCambridgeshire includes working withother forces nationally to protectcommunities from terrorism, secure thepublic’s involvement in cutting andpreventing crime and delivering value formoney.

In addition to the objectives above, SirGraham has made a series of personalpledges in response to what members ofthe public have told him they haveconcerns about. These are included in theplan on the website.


18 Cambridgeshire Police & Crime Commissioner

Protecting the frontline a ‘priority’

Cambridgeshire’s Police and CrimeCommissioner will increase the policingpart of council tax by a modest amount toprotect the front line in 2014/15, after theCambridgeshire Force received £1.2m lessthan expected in Police grant for 2014/15.

Significant savings had been made tobalance the 2014/15 budget, but theGovernment grant settlementannouncement revealed that forces,including Cambridgeshire, had been ‘topsliced’ to fund national initiatives andconsequently received less thananticipated.

The seven pence (1.92 per cent) per weekincrease on a Band D property means thatthe frontline continues to be protected.

Cambridgeshire is one of the lowest costingand most productive police workforces in

the country with the highest percentage ofofficers on frontline duties.

The number of police officers working inlocal policing will have increased from988.5 at the start of the year to 998 at thestart of this coming year, despite havingalso made savings of £4.9m within 2013/14.

Sir Graham has been listening to what thepublic have told him, balancing theirexpectations of police visibility withaffordability of tax increases. Engagementwith the public has taken place throughoutthe year in numerous ways. Sir Graham’sOutreach Worker for Peterborough andFenland has played an instrumental role inlistening to the public, acting on theirconcerns and, when necessary, enabling theCommissioner to hold the Chief Constableto account on behalf of the public.

The precept will provide a £131.1m budgetfor policing in 2014/15. This will allow Sir

Where the money comes from

Council Tax 47.2 36Council tax freeze grant 1.2 0.9Police Grant 77.3 59Other Grants 5.2 4.0Reserves 0.2 0.1Total 131.1 100.0

What the money is spent on

Employees 59.3 60Police officer pensions 12.2 9.3Premises 4.0 3.1Transport 1.7 1.3Supplies and services 13.8 10.5Collaborated Units 19.4 14.8PCC Grants 1.8 1.4Capital financing 2.2 1.7Income -1.8 -1.4Total 131.1 100

£m

£m

%

%


Graham to continue to deliver against hispledges as set out in the Police and CrimePlan.

Partnership Working

In the Commissioner’s first year much workhas been undertaken to influence howpartners approach problems which impacton all agencies. Responding to andpreventing problems caused by alcoholmisuse, working together on mentalhealth, addressing anti-social behaviourand safeguarding vulnerable peopleremain high on the Commissioner’s list ofpriorities.

Victims

The Commissioner’s role, and the operationhe is now running, is completely differentto the one he inherited and it is increasing all the time. Responsibility forcommissioning support services for victimswill transfer to the Commissioner inOctober. The Commissioner wants to putthe victim in the driving position, ensuringthey receive the necessary help and supportto cope, recover and, where possible,return to the life they had before the crimeoccurred. The Commissioner is alsochampioning work with offenders toprevent people becoming victims in thefirst place.

Capital programme

The Commissioner has a capital programme(premises and other assets) for 2014/15 of£4.6m which includes historical and newcommitments such as:

• Programme Metis, ICT and communications projects to replace current systems with updated and integrated ones (£2.4m)

• Major repairs to buildings (£0.7m)• Replacement of vehicles (£1.4m)• Collaborated Unit projects (£0.1m)

ContactsIf you need to contact the Office ofthe Police and Crime Commissioner,please write to:

The Chief Executive Office of the Cambridgeshire Policeand Crime CommissionerSouth Cambridgeshire HallCambourne Business ParkCambourneCambridgeCB23 6EA

Telephone: 0300 333 3456

Email: [email protected]

19Cambridgeshire Police & Crime Commissioner

Workforce

As stated above, the number of officerposts within local policing will be 998 bythe start of this 2014/15. The total numberof officers budgeted for will be 1,341 in2014/15. A total of 819 staff and 150 PCSOshave been included in the budget.

Reserves

General reserves are held in the event of the occurrence of any unforeseen high impact policing operations. The Commissioner will have estimatedgeneral reserves of £9.2m (7 per cent of netbudget) at the end of 2013/14. TheCommissioner also maintains earmarkedreserves for capital financing, potentialrisks, new initiatives and to deal withinsurance claims. These are expected to be£15.4 million at the end of 2014/15.


20 Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Fire Authority

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough FireAuthority is responsible for providing anefficient and effective fire and rescue service.It does this by balancing resources across firesafety in the home and at work, andresponding to 999 emergencies.

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Servicecontinues to be one of the lowest financingfire and rescue services in the country, yetcontinually strives to improve the service itprovides to the public.

Background

Local Government as a whole is faced with anunprecedented set of financial challenges andthe Fire Authority is no exception.

The Government grant to the Authority wasreduced by 22.7 per cent over the last threefinancial years. The reduction for theforthcoming year is 6.8 per cent.

What does it mean?

The budget has been prepared for themedium term (the next five years) aftermaking a number of assumptions, which are:

• A freeze in council tax for 2014/15 following a pay award of 1 per cent, then a 2 per cent increase in 2015/16 onwards;

• Non pay inflation will track government inflation projections, with the exception of fuel.

In summary, the Authority will receive a totalformula grant, including council tax benefitgrant, of £12.4 million.

This is a reduction of £900,000 from the grantreceived in 2013/14, equivalent to 6.8 per cent.

The indicative grant figure for 2015/16 is £11.4 million. This is a further reduction of £1 million or 8.4 per cent.

Budget

The Fire Authority has approved a budget of£29.1 million for 2014/15. This is equivalent toa Band D council tax contribution of £64.26,which equates to £1.24 a week - a freeze inline with last year’s rate.


21Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Fire Authority

Preventing Protecting Responding

ContactsIf you need more information about theFire Authority, please contact:

Director of ResourcesCambridgeshire Fire & Rescue ServiceFire HeadquartersHinchingbrooke CottageBrampton RoadHuntingdonPE29 2NAPhone: 01480 444619Email: [email protected]

www.cambsfire.gov.uk

Other2013/14 Inflation Variations 2014/15

£m £m £m £m

Employees 22.228 0.285 -0.911 21.602Premises 1.130 0.050 - 1.180Supplies and Services 5.495 0.119 0.084 5.698Transport 0.554 -0.018 0.017 0.553Agency Costs 0.125 0.001 - 0.126Capital Financing 1.994 0.041 -0.065 1.970 Gross Expenditure 31.526 0.478 -0.875 31.129Income -1.705 -0.039 -0.292 -2.036Net Expenditure 29.821 0.439 -1.167 29.093

Financed by: Business Rates 3.372 - 0.065 3.437Non-ring fenced Government Grant 10.001 - -1.067 8.934Council Tax Requirement 16.448 0.372 -0.098 16.722Total 29.821 0.372 -1.100 29.093

Capital Spending

The Fire Authority’s capital programmeincludes:

• The purchase of fire appliances and other operational vehicles

• Property maintenance and improvements

• Operational equipment• Information technology and communications equipment

Reserves

The Fire Authority will have estimated generalreserves of £2.2 million (7.4 per cent of netbudget) at the end of 2013/14, to fundexcessive operational costs that might arisefrom extreme weather conditions or tomitigate against business continuity events(eg pandemic flu).

Information

You can see copies of the Fire Authority’spriorities for 2014/15 and Integrated RiskManagement Plan (IRMP) on its websitewww.cambsfire.gov.uk. For the latestinformation about CFRS, follow us on Twitter@cambsfrs and Facebook.com/cambsfrs.


25Cambridgeshire County Council

Introduction from theLeader - Councillor Martin Curtis

We are publishing ourBusiness Plan at a verytough time. We arerequired to make yetmore significant cuts toour services, cuts that

will inevitably hit our communities - thesting of austerity is really starting to kick innow.

Cambridgeshire is one of the hardest hitauthorities in the country and will see areduction in the Government’s SettlementFunding Assessment of 20.9 per cent(£29.9m) over the next two financial years,while the increasing population and annualinflation add an extra pressure ondecreasing funds. As a result the Councilneeds to save £38.2m in 2014/15.

The Council is seeing more and moredemands on its services - especially forthose who are the most vulnerable - as

more people need them or are livinglonger and require more expensive careservices.

Obviously this is not a sustainable position,and over the next few years we need totake some very tough decisions.

We will be bold and show leadership bydoing what is best for the communities weserve to ensure Cambridgeshire remains agreat place to live, work and do business.We need to reduce our dependence onGovernment funding - which is becoming amuch less reliable source of money - andtake greater control of our own localdestiny.

It will not be easy and it will only gettougher. But we must deal with thechallenge head on. Through changingcircumstances we have to be clear thatwhat is most important is delivering thebest possible outcomes for the people weserve, therefore our priorities remain:

• Developing the local economy for the benefit of all.

• Helping people live healthy and independent lives.

• Supporting and protecting vulnerable people.

What we’ve done over the last year

We have already made substantial savings,including £32m in 2013/14. This has beenachieved by mainly targeting areas that are easier to achieve without harmingfrontline services such as a slimmed downmanagement structure and costs.

Vision and Priorities


26 Cambridgeshire County Council

We have made these savings so we cancontinue to invest in Cambridgeshire’sfuture. There has been a lot of focus oninfrastructure and on investing in projectsthat will make a substantial difference tothe lives of our residents and theoperations of our businesses for decades tocome.

We have led the formation of a localconsortium that includes a range ofdifferent organisations to help bringforward improvements to the congestionand accident blighted A14.

This is proof of our ability to innovate andour determination to unlock benefits forthe county that we would not otherwiseexperience.

We have agreed in principle withGovernment to work towards a City Dealfor Greater Cambridge, and are workingout the finer details.

This should help us to take greater controlof driving economic growth and quality oflife for our residents, in particular, byimproving our transport infrastructure. Butwill also have benefits for the whole of theCounty.

The programme of improvements weanticipate being able to deliver through

our City Deal proposals willmake a strong contributionto helping people to livehealthy and independentlives. This will be done byopening up access toservices, employment andleisure opportunities thatboth improve their qualityof life and help them toremain independent forlonger.

It is not just aboutinfrastructure though. Wehave also delivered newways of working that bring

real benefits to the people ofCambridgeshire. The best example of this isour move to the ‘Unit Model’ in social care.This brings a more innovative approach todelivering support to the most vulnerablechildren in Cambridgeshire, and which isproving extremely popular with our veryimportant social workers.

We also launched the ‘CommunityNavigators’ scheme, working with our thirdsector partners, which is already provingsuccessful in dealing with social isolationamongst vulnerable older people.

Cambridgeshire County Council has everyright to be proud of these achievementsand is looking forward to building on themin future years.

Looking forward

Whilst we have made significant savingsalready, they are small compared to what isneeded in coming years. Current forecastsshow a £149m funding gap in 2018/19 if wetake no action.

Having made the easier savings, this showsjust how tough the decisions we have tomake in future are. We have to become asmaller organisation. We need to work verydifferently and we will have to withdrawsome services.



Do you want to know more?The County Council’s Business Plan is available onlineat www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk

telephone: 01223 715333e-mail: [email protected]

county suffer from serious deprivation. Wewill spread the benefits of this economicgrowth to reach the wider county.

An independent peer review of the Councilhas highlighted things we need to beaware of - like making sure that ourchanging governance arrangements canstill deliver results for our residents andbusinesses, and needing to ensure that ourambitions, particularly relating to ourcapital investment programme, arerealistic. It also highlighted how very slimour management structures are and therisks we carry as a result of that.

All of this tells us that we need to be bothambitious and bold, but also careful. It willbe no use to anyone if we cannot deliverservices that people rely on because we donot have the staff, or if we have to cut vitalservices because the cost of borrowing tofund our capital programme is too high.

Ambition, leadership and the ability toreact flexibly to change will be the key forus in coming years, tempered with a doseof responsibility. We will not shy away fromthe challenges facing us, but we alsocannot hide the fact that they will have animpact on people.

What we have to do is make sure that thenegative impacts are minimised as much aspossible, whilst delivering the savings thatwe need to deliver. Despite the toughfinancial circumstances, we must remainambitious for Cambridgeshire and itsresidents.

All the while we have to make sure thatthis has the minimum possible impact onthe people we serve. But we can no longerdeliver cuts without having some impactand without people feeling the pinch.

We continue to fight Cambridgeshire’scorner effectively on the national stage -that does not just mean for the CountyCouncil, but for the whole ofCambridgeshire.

A prime example is schools funding, whereCambridgeshire receives less money perpupil than any other part of the country.We will continue to lobby for a fairerdistribution so that we can give ourchildren the best possible education.

Cambridgeshire is an area that the UK canbe proud of and has tremendous potentialin terms of economic growth and quality oflife; no one benefits from restricting thatpotential.

The Greater Cambridge area is a jewel inthe UK’s economic crown, yet parts of our


28 Cambridgeshire County Council

Only 31% of the money whichwe spend on providing ourservices comes from CouncilTax. This amounts to £236m ofthe total Council Tax collectedby your billing authority in thefollowing proportions:

Cambridge £43mEast Cambs £31mFenland £30mHunts £66mSouth Cambs £66m

This equates to £370 per headof population.

Revenue spending on services

Blue toned segments are money from Central Government.Red toned segments represent money raised within Cambridgeshire.

Which services do we provide, for how much,and how does that compare to last year?

Where the county’s money comes from

£ m

illio

n

Gross Budget 2014-15(Total: 752.7m)

Gross Budget 2013-14(Total: 738.7m)

196.2

114.7

34.125.2

32.9

15.75.9 9.5

22.6

43.5

252.4

Fees & Charges £78.3

Council Tax £235.7

Business Rates £57.9

NHS Funding £10.7

Revenue Support Grant £72.0

Specific Grants £58.3

Dedicated Schools Grant£239.8

Despite taking on over £10m newfunctions, gross non-schoolexpenditure in the coming year willonly be 1.9% higher than last yeardue mainly to cuts in CentralGovernment funding.

Balanced against this, the Councilfaces significant cost increases,including £11.3m due to inflationand £9.3m arising from additionalgrowth in population and demand.

Therefore, in order to fund thesecuts and increases in demand, it willbe necessary to find £38.2m ofsavings during 2014/15.



What investments are we making for the future?

Comparison with other neighbouring county councils 2013/14 Band D Council Tax

Overall the Council Tax rise for the County Council element is 1.99%: 42p per week atBand D. The County Council element for all bandings will be as follows:

A B C D E F G H

£747.96 £872.62 £997.28 £1,121.94 £1,371.26 £1,620.58 £1,869.90 £2,243.88

The capital programme will see the followinginvestments in new or updated infrastructure over the next 5 years:

2014-2015 Total £179.6m

2015-2016 Total £195.5m

2016-2017 Total £144.5m

2017-2018 Total £114.8m

2018-2019 Total £77.0m

£

The capital programme will be funded by a mixture of capital grants, contributions fromdevelopers, planned asset sales and borrowing to make up the deficit.

1,145.07 1,126.53 1,118.83 1,102.76 1,100.07 1,086.75 1,065.69

£ million


31Council Tax explanatory notes

• Where you start or stop using part of your home to carry out a business, or the balance between domestic and business use changes.

• Where the Valuation Officer has altered the banding without a proposal having been made by a taxpayer.

• Where you become the taxpayer in respect of a property for the first time. (Your appeal must be made within six months, butif a Valuation Tribunal has already made a decision on the same appeal, it cannot be made again).

A material increase in value may result frombuilding, engineering or other work carried outon the property. In these cases, revaluationdoes not take place until after a sale or when anational revaluation exercise takes place - sothe person appealing would usually be the newowner or resident.

A material reduction in value may result fromthe demolition of any part of the property, achange in the physical state of the local area oradaptation to make the property suitable foruse by someone with a physical disability. Inthese cases, revaluation should take place assoon as possible.

Appeals about banding should be sent directlyto the Valuation Office Agency who can becontacted at Listing Officer, Council Tax East,Valuation Office Agency, Ground Floor, FerrersHouse, Castle Meadow Road, Nottingham, NG21AB. Telephone: 03000 501501 or e-mail:[email protected]

Making an appeal does not allow you towithhold payment of tax owing in themeantime. If your appeal is successful you willbe entitled to a refund of any tax you haveoverpaid.

Discounts

The full Council Tax bill assumes that there aretwo adults living in a property. If only one adultlives in a property (as their main home) theCouncil Tax payer can apply to have the billreduced by 25%.

The Council Tax helps to pay for local serviceslike policing and rubbish collection. It applies toall domestic properties, including houses,bungalows, flats, maisonettes, mobile homesand houseboats, whether owned or rented,where it is occupied by someone as their sole ormain residence.

There is one bill per property whether it isowned or rented. The people who live in theproperty will normally have to pay the CouncilTax.

Council Tax Valuation Bands

Properties have been allocated to one of eightbands according to their open market capitalvalue at 1 April 1991. Your Council Tax bill tellsyou which band applies to your property. Youwill find more details about the valuationbands on our website or by contacting us.

Appeals

The grounds for appeal about banding arerestricted to the following cases.

• Where you believe that the banding should be changed because there has been a material increase or material reduction (this is explained below) in the value of the property.

Council Taxexplanatory notes

Valuation Range of Values Proportion Band £ of Band D

Tax Payable

A Up to and inc. £40,000 6/9B £40,001 to £52,000 7/9C £52,001 to £68,000 8/9D £68,001 to £88,000 1E £88,001 to £120,000 11/9F £120,001 to £160,000 13/9G £160,001 to £320,000 15/9H More than £320,000 2


32 Council Tax explanatory notes

The following people will not be counted whenlooking at the number of adults living in aproperty, if they meet certain conditions. Thismeans that the council taxpayer may qualify fora discount even if there is more than one adultliving in the property.

• Full-time students, student nurses, apprentices and Youth Training trainees.

• 18 and 19 year-olds who are at, or who have just left, school and for whom Child Benefit is still payable.

• Members of visiting forces and certain international institutions.

• People caring for someone with a disability who is not their spouse, partner or child under 18.

• People who are being looked after in care homes.

• Patients permanently resident in hospital.• People who are severely mentally

impaired.• Careworkers working for low pay, usually

for charities.• People staying in certain hostels or night

shelters.• Members of religious communities

(monks and nuns).• People in prison (except those in prison

for non-payment of Council Tax or a fine).

Discounts for Annexes

From 1st April 2014 annexes that are notexempt from council tax, that forms part of amain dwelling, being used by the person(s)liable to pay council tax for that dwelling (aspart of the main property or is the sole or mainresidence of a relative of those person(s)), maybe eligible to a further 50% reduction incouncil tax liability on top of any existingdiscount.

If you think you may be entitled to a discount,you should contact your local council at theaddress shown in the Contacts section on page 46.

If your bill shows that a discount has beenallowed, you must tell your local council of anychange of circumstances that affect yourentitlement; for example a second residentreaches the age of 18. If you fail to do so, youmay have to pay a penalty.

People with Disabilities

If you, or someone who lives with you, need aspecial room, additional bathroom or kitchen,or extra space in your property to meet specialneeds arising from a disability, you may beentitled to a reduced Council Tax bill.

These reductions ensure that disabled peopledo not pay more tax on account of spaceneeded because of a disability.

For further details please contact the Council atthe address shown in the Contacts section onpage 46.

If your home has any special fixtures that havebeen added for a disabled resident which mayaffect the overall value of the property and youdo not think they have been taken into accountin the valuation band, you should contact theValuation Officer at the address shown in theAppeals section on page 31.

Council Tax instalment scheme

Your bill will normally ask you to pay theCouncil Tax over ten monthly instalments.However, since 1st April 2013 you have beenable to pay over twelve months.

If you would prefer to pay over twelve monthsrather the usual ten please contact your localCouncil at the address shown in the Contactssection on page 47.

Appeals

You may also appeal if you disagree with someaspect of a council tax bill because you do notthink you are liable for the council tax for thatdwelling, or you think an exemption or adiscount should be applied. You must firstappeal to your local authority and providedetailed reasons for your appeal to allow thematter to be reconsidered. There is a furtherright of appeal to the Valuation Tribunalagainst the council's decision, and moreinformation can be found atwww.valuationtribunal.gov.uk


33Council Tax explanatory notes

An unoccupied property that is;B owned by a charity (exemption allowed for up to six months only)D left empty by someone who has gone to prisonE unoccupied dwelling previously occupied by a person now in permanent residential careF Left empty where the liable person has died and the deceased’s executors or personal

representatives are now liable (up to 6 months after grant of Probate)G empty because occupation is forbidden by lawH waiting to be occupied by a minister of religionI left empty by someone who has moved to receive personal care by reason of old age,

disablement or illnessJ left empty by someone who has moved out to provide personal care to another personK owned by a student and was last occupied by a studentL where a mortgagee is in possessionQ the responsibility of a bankrupt’s trusteeR a site for an individual caravan or mobile home, or a mooringT difficult to let because it is linked to, or in the grounds of, another property and may

not be let separately from that other property without breaching planning permission. The liable person must, however, live in the other property to qualify.

An occupied property:M/N where all the residents are studentsP where at least one liable person is a member of a visiting forceS where all the residents are less than 18 years of ageU where all the residents are severely mentally impairedV where at least one liable person is a foreign diplomatW which is annexed to a family home and occupied by that family’s elderly or disabled relatives.

Class

Forces barracks and married quarters are also exempt (Class O). Their occupants will contribute tothe cost of local services through a special arrangement.

These categories are only broad descriptions of the available exemptions. If you believe anexemption should apply to your bill, please contact your local Council Tax Office for advice. Pleaseremember, while you are waiting for the outcome of an application, you must continue to pay yourcurrent bill. If this causes any problem, please contact us immediately. If your circumstances changeyou must tell your local council within 21 days of the change, otherwise you may have to pay apenalty.

Local Council Tax Support Schemes

Council tax support is a reduction to a council tax bill and can be awarded to people on lowincomes. From 1 April 2013 each local authority has been required to develop its own local scheme.Further details of the local council tax support scheme as well information about changes to counciltax discounts and exemptions can be found on page 15.

Exempt Properties

Some properties may be exempt from Council Tax. If you own or occupy a property that is describedbelow and your bill does not show that an exemption has been granted, please contact your localCouncil Tax Office for advice, by using any of the methods shown in the Contacts section on page 47 of this booklet. It is important that you check with your council whether a local scheme isin operation.


34 Help with your Council Tax and Rent

Do you struggle to pay your rent or CouncilTax? If you are on a low income, yourCouncil may be able to help with HousingBenefit or Council Tax Support.

Even if you are working, you could still getbenefit. The amount of Housing Benefit orCouncil Tax Support you get will dependon:

• The amount of Council Tax or rent you pay

• The needs of your family• Your and any partner’s income• Your and any partner’s savings • Other people who live with you

Any Council Tax Support you are awardedwill be used by the Council to reduce yourCouncil Tax bill.

If you are entitled to Housing Benefit, andpay rent to a private landlord, housing

association or registered charity, yourCouncil will give you money to help payyour rent. If you are a council tenant, yourHousing Benefit will be paid directly toyour rent account. You will be responsiblefor any difference between the rentcharged and the benefit paid.

If you have claimed before it may be worthapplying again, as there have been manychanges to welfare benefits recently andthe figures that are used to calculateHousing Benefit and Council Tax Supportchange each April which may mean youqualify now. Apply as soon as you can asany delay may result in you losing Benefitor Support.

If you would like more information aboutHousing Benefit or your local Council TaxSupport scheme please contact yourCouncil using the details found on Page 46of this booklet.

Council Tax Support and Housing Benefits

Your council is part of the Cambridgeshire Tenancy Fraud Forum, which has beenestablished to tackle tenancy fraud throughout the county.

Tenancy fraud may be where people are subletting their social housing property illegally,have abandoned a property or have made a fraudulent application to obtain socialhousing.

To find out more or to report allegations of Tenancy Fraud, please visit: www.cambstenancyfraud.net


35Non-Domestic Rates explanatory notes

Non-Domestic Rates, or business rates,collected by local authorities is the way thatthose who occupy non-domestic propertycontribute towards the cost of local services.Under the business rates retentionarrangements introduced from 1st April 2013,authorities keep a proportion of the businessrates paid locally. This provides a directfinancial incentive for authorities to workwith local businesses to create a favourablelocal environment for growth sinceauthorities will benefit from growth inbusiness rates revenues. The money, togetherwith revenue from council tax payers, revenuesupport grant provided by the Governmentand certain other sums, is used to pay for theservices provided by your local authority andother local authorities in your area. Furtherinformation about the business rates system,including transitional and other reliefs, maybe obtained at www.gov.uk.

Rateable Value

Apart from properties that are exempt frombusiness rates, each non- domestic propertyhas a rateable value which is set by thevaluation officers of the Valuation OfficeAgency (VOA), an agency of Her Majesty’sRevenue and Customs. They draw up andmaintain a full list of all rateable values,available on their website at www.voa.gov.uk.The rateable value of your property is shownon the front of this bill. This broadlyrepresents the yearly rent the property couldhave been let for on the open market on aparticular date. For the revaluation that cameinto effect on 1st April 2010, this date was setas 1st April 2008.

The valuation officer may alter the value ifcircumstances change. The ratepayer (andcertain others who have an interest in theproperty) can appeal against the value shownin the list if they believe it is wrong. Further

information about the grounds on whichappeals may be made and the process fordoing so can be found on the VOA website orfrom Valuation Officer, Non-Domestic Rates East, Valuation Office Agency, Roseberry Court, Central Avenue, St AndrewsBusiness Park, Norwich, NR7 0HS. Telephone:03000 501501.

National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier

The local authority works out the businessrates bill by multiplying the rateable value ofthe property by the appropriate multiplier.There are two multipliers: the standard non-domestic rating multiplier and the smallbusiness non- domestic rating multiplier. Theformer is higher to pay for small business raterelief. Except in the City of London wherespecial arrangements apply, the Governmentsets the multipliers for each financial year forthe whole of England according to formulaeset by legislation. Generally, the multipliersincrease in line with inflation according to theRetail Price Index in September of thepreceding year. The Government announcedin the Autumn Statement 2013 that it will capthe RPI increase in business rates to 2% in2014-15.

Between revaluations, the multipliers changeeach year in line with inflation and to takeaccount of the cost of small business raterelief. In the year of revaluation themultipliers are rebased to account for overallchanges to total rateable value and to ensurethat the revaluation does not raise extramoney for Government. Similarly, the changein the revaluation date to 2017 has no effecton the total amount of revenue raised frombusiness rates. The current multipliers areshown on the front of your bill.

Non-Domestic Rates explanatory notes


36 Non-Domestic Rates explanatory notes

Business Rates Instalments

Payment of business rate bills is automaticallyset on a 10-monthly cycle. However, theGovernment has announced that it willlegislate to allow businesses to ask for theirbusiness rate bills to be spread over 12 monthsto help with cash flow. The Government isputting in place regulations that will, witheffect for the 2014-15 financial year, allowbusinesses to require their local authority toenable payments to be made through 12monthly instalments. If you wish to take upthis offer, you should contact your localauthority as soon as possible.

Revaluation 2010 and Transitional Arrangements

All rateable values are generally reassessedevery five years at a general revaluation toensure bills paid by any one ratepayer reflectchanges over time in the value of theirproperty relative to others. The current ratinglist is based on the 2010 revaluation. TheGovernment has confirmed that the nextrevaluation has been postponed until 2017.This will provide greater stability forbusinesses to encourage economic growth.Five yearly revaluations will continue from2017. Revaluation does not raise extra moneyfor Government. The Government’s WrittenMinisterial Statement on the postponementcan be found at the following link:www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121112/wmstext/121112m0001.htm

For those ratepayers who would otherwisehave seen significant increases in their ratesliability, the Government has put in place a £2billion transitional relief scheme to limit andphase in changes in rate bills as a result of the2010 revaluation. To help pay for the limits onincreases in bills, there were also limits onreductions in bills. Under the transitionscheme, limits continue to apply to yearlyincreases and decreases until the full amountis due (rateable value times the appropriatemultiplier). The scheme applies only to the billbased on a property at the time of therevaluation. If there are any changes to the

property after 1st April 2010, transitionalarrangements will not normally apply to thepart of a bill that relates to any increase inrateable value due to those changes. Changesto your bill as a result of other reasons (such asbecause of changes to the amount of smallbusiness rate relief) are not covered by thetransitional arrangements.

The transitional arrangements are appliedautomatically and are shown on the front ofthis bill. More information on revaluation2010 can be found at www.voa.gov.uk

Unoccupied Property Rating

Business rates will not be payable in the firstthree months that a property is empty. This isextended to six months in the case of certainindustrial properties. After this period ratesare payable in full unless the unoccupiedproperty rate has been reduced by theGovernment by order. In most cases theunoccupied property rate is zero forproperties owned by charities and communityamateur sports clubs. In addition, there are anumber of exemptions from the unoccupiedproperty rate. Full details on exemptions canbe obtained from the local authority. If theunoccupied property rate for the financialyear has been reduced by order, it will beshown on the front of your bill.

The Government has introduced a newtemporary measure for unoccupied newbuilds from October 2013. Unoccupied newbuilds will be exempt from unoccupiedproperty rates for up to 18 months (up tostate aid limits) where the property comes onto the list between 1st October 2013 and 30thSeptember 2016. The 18 month periodincludes the initial 3 or 6 month exemptionand so properties may, if unoccupied, beexempt from non- domestic rates for up to anextra 15 or 12 months.

Partly Occupied Property Relief

A ratepayer is liable for the full non-domesticrate whether a property is wholly occupied oronly partly occupied. Where a property is


37Non-Domestic Rates explanatory notes

partly occupied for a short time, the localauthority has discretion in certain cases toaward relief in respect of the unoccupied part. Full details can be obtained from thelocal authority.

Small Business Rate Relief

Ratepayers who are not entitled to anothermandatory relief or are liable for unoccupiedproperty rates and occupy a property with arateable value which does not exceed £17,999outside London or £25,499 in London willhave their bill calculated using the lower smallbusiness non-domestic rating multiplier,rather than the national non-domestic ratingmultiplier.

In addition, generally, if the sole or mainproperty is shown on the rating list with arateable value which does not exceed £12,000,the ratepayer will receive a percentagereduction in their rates bill for this property of up to a maximum of 50% for a propertywith a rateable value of not more than£6,000. However, until 31st March 2015, the Government has doubled the usual levelof relief.

Generally, this percentage reduction (relief) isonly available to ratepayers who occupyeither-

(a) one property, or(b)one main property and other additional properties providing those additional properties each have a rateable value which does not exceed £2,599.

The rateable value of the property mentionedin (a), or the aggregate rateable value of allthe properties mentioned in (b), must notexceed £17,999 outside London or £25,499 inLondon on each day for which relief is beingsought. If the rateable value, or aggregaterateable value, increases above those levels,relief will cease from the day of the increase.

However, the Government has introducedadditional support to small businesses. Forthose businesses that take on an additional

property which would normally have meantthe loss of small business rate relief, theGovernment has confirmed that they will beallowed to keep that relief for a period of 12months.

Where a ratepayer meets the eligibilitycriteria and has not received the relief theyshould contact their local authority. Providedthe ratepayer continues to satisfy theconditions for relief which apply at therelevant time as regards the property and theratepayer, they will automatically continue toreceive relief in each new valuation period.

Certain changes in circumstances will need tobe notified to the local authority by aratepayer who is in receipt of relief (otherchanges will be picked up by the localauthority). The changes which should benotified are-

(a) the ratepayer taking up occupation of an additional property, and

(b)an increase in the rateable value of a property occupied by the ratepayer in an area other than the area of the local authority which granted the relief.

Charity and Community Amateur Sports Club Relief

Charities and registered Community AmateurSports Clubs are entitled to 80% relief wherethe property is occupied by the charity or theclub, and is wholly or mainly used for thecharitable purposes of the charity (or of thatand other charities), or for the purposes of theclub (or of that and other clubs).

The local authority has discretion to givefurther relief on the remaining bill. Full detailscan be obtained from the local authority.

Local Discounts

Local authorities have a general power togrant discretionary local discounts. Full detailscan be obtained from the local authority.


38 Non-Domestic Rates explanatory notes

Retail Discounts

The Government is giving funding to localauthorities so that they can provide a discountworth up to £1,000 a year - in both 2014-15and 2015-16 - to retail premises with arateable value of up to £50,000. This willprovide support to premises including pubs,cafes, restaurants and shops. Full details canbe obtained from the local authority.

The Government is also giving funding tolocal authorities so that they can provide a50% discount for 18 months for thosebusinesses that move into retail premises thathave been empty for a year or more. This isavailable for businesses which move intoempty premises between 1st April 2014 and31st March 2016. Full details can be obtainedfrom the local authority.

The award of such discounts is consideredlikely to amount to state aid. However it willbe state aid compliant where it is provided inaccordance with the De Minimis Regulations(1407/2013). The De Minimis Regulationsallow an undertaking to receive up to€200,000 ‘de minimis’ aid over a rolling threeyear period. If you are receiving, or havereceived, any ‘de minimis’ aid granted duringthe current or two previous financial years(from any source), you should inform the localauthority immediately with details of the aidreceived.

Hardship Relief

The local authority has discretion to givehardship relief in specific circumstances. Fulldetails can be obtained from the localauthority.

Cancellation of Backdated Rates Liabilities

The Government has put in place regulationsto allow for the cancellation of certainbackdated business rates liabilities. Therelevant regulations, the Non- Domestic

Rating (Cancellation of Backdated Liabilities) Regulations 2012 (SI2012/537), can be found at:www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/537/made

Information on the type of backdated ratesliability that can be cancelled is available withBusiness Rates Information Letter titledCancellation of Backdated Rates:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/8187/Business_Rates_Information_Letter_4-2012.pdf

Rating advisers

Ratepayers do not have to be represented indiscussions about their rateable value or theirrates bill. Appeals against rateable values canbe made free of charge. However, ratepayerswho do wish to be represented should beaware that members of the Royal Institutionof Chartered Surveyors (RICS - websitewww.rics.org) and the Institute of Revenues,Rating and Valuation (IRRV - websitewww.irrv.org.uk) are qualified and areregulated by rules of professional conductdesigned to protect the public frommisconduct. Before you employ a ratingadviser, you should check that they have thenecessary knowledge and expertise, as well asappropriate indemnity insurance. Take greatcare and, if necessary, seek further advicebefore entering into any contract.

Information Supplied with Demand Notices

Information relating to the relevant andprevious financial years in regard to the grossexpenditure of the council is enclosed in thisbooklet. Queries or requests for furtherinformation should be made to your localauthority.


47Useful contacts at South Cambridgeshire District Council

South Cambridgeshire District CouncilCambourne Business Park, Cambourne, Cambridge, CB23 6EAOpen Monday to Friday from 8am to 5.30pm

Visit our self serve website www.scambs.gov.uk whereyou can pay it, apply for it, and report it, at a click of abutton.

[email protected] [email protected]@scambs.gov.uk [email protected]

Council tax bill enquiries.................................0345 045 0064Business rate enquiries....................................0195 471 3112Housing benefit/council tax support..............0345 045 0061Benefit fraud hotline.......................................0800 731 1892Council housing rents......................................0345 045 0064General enquiries............................................0345 045 0500

Cambridgeshire and PeterboroughFire AuthorityHinchingbrooke Cottage, Brampton Road, Huntingdon PE29 2NA

Fire Service Headquarters...............................01480 444500

In an emergency dial 999

Cambridgeshire Police & Crime CommissionerSouth Cambridgeshire Hall, Cambourne Business ParkCambourne, Cambridge, CB23 6EAOffice of the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner.......................................0300 333 3456Constabulary non emergency number............................101

In an emergency dial 999

Cambridgeshire County CouncilShire Hall, Castle Hill, Cambridge CB3 0AP

General Enquiries (Mon-Fri 8am to 6pm, Sat 9am to 1pm)..............................................0345 045 5200

Libraries...........................................................0345 045 5225Road Maintenance..........................................0345 045 5212Schools/Education...........................................01223 706 399Street Lighting.................................................0800 783 8247Trading Standards...........................................0345 045 5206Waste Management........................................0345 045 5207Social Services (adult services)........................0345 045 5202Social Services (children’s services).................0345 045 5203Social Services (out of hours)..........................01733 234 724

Help stop fraudIf you know somebody who you think is claimingbenefit incorrectly, help usto stop them by calling our Benefits Fraud Hotline:

0800 731 1892

If you would like a copy of the text in this leaflet in large print, Braille,audiotape or in anotherlanguage, please call

0345 045 0064

Cambridge Valuation OfficeAgency Banding/Valuationenquiries 0300 501 501

For more information visit:www.cambridgeshire.gov.ukwww.scambs.gov.ukwww.cambsfire.gov.ukwww.cambridgeshire-pcc.gov.uk

You can also follow and contact us on Twitter by sendingyour message to @southcambs, or on Facebook bysearching for ‘South Cambridgeshire’.


Your Council Tax booklet 2014 15

Documents

Transcript of Your Council Tax booklet 2014 15