Council Tax information for
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Council Tax information for
BWD_CTB_8pp_0215
2015-16
This leaflet forms part of your demand notice02
Dear Resident
For all of us living in Blackburn with Darwen there will be no increase to
the part of Council Tax which funds services provided by Blackburn with
Darwen Council. This is because we believe we need to do everything we
can to keep the cost of living down, even though we know it means we
will have to cut the services people value and need.
Your Council continues to face very challenging financial circumstances
due to drastic Government cuts to its core funding, as well as increasing
demands and pressures. So far, since 2010, we have had to cut £70
million, with a further cuts of £31 million needed over the next three years
Councillor to balance our budget. That’s a total of £101 million removed from our
Andy Kay local economy.
We are doing everything possible to re-think how we deliver services
to reduce the impact felt by residents. After consulting residents,
the priorities we have set to serve the 147,300 residents and 60,251
households in the borough are:
Creating more jobs and supporting business growth
Improving housing quality and building more houses
Improving health and wellbeing
Improving outcomes for our young people
Safeguarding the most vulnerable people
Making your money go further
We will continue to talk to you about where and how these cuts are
implemented and also keep you updated on all the vital investment
projects for our area. During this year’s consultation we made extra effort
to include our younger residents.
Thousands of people continue to be involved in community Your Call
activities which remains an important way of working with the Council
and helps ensure we can continue to help improve lives and look after
the area. The annual report tells the story of those getting involved:
www.blackburn.gov.uk/your-call
This leaflet provides how to get help paying your bill if you are on a low
income and also refers you to the Council website for the up to date
information on how much Council Tax you pay, how your money and
money from the Government is spent.
Councillor Andy Kay
Executive member for Resources
Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information in this booklet, if you cannot find the service you
are looking for or the information is not correct, please contact our main Council number on (01254) 585585 or email
info@blackburn.gov.ukBlackburn with Darwen Borough Council 03
How your Council Tax is spent
Your Council Tax covers a wide variety of services across the borough from bin
collections and recycling to libraries and museums; children’s centres and support
of children with special needs to adoption and fostering; to cleaning streets
and maintaining parks as well as getting people back into work and supporting
businesses to create jobs.
For a detailed breakdown of the Council’s budget and how it plans to spend the
money it receives, visit www.blackburn.gov.uk/budget
Some of your money goes to Lancashire Combined Fire Authority and the Police and
Crime Commissioner for Lancashire. For more information visit:
http://www.lancashire-pcc.gov.uk/Transparency/Budget-2015-2016
www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk/council-tax
About your Council Tax bill
This information is intended to provide you with more guidance about your Council Tax bill. It is not
a full statement of the law, if you do need more information please phone (01254) 585585 or visit
www.blackburn.gov.uk/counciltax
You are charged Council Tax for most homes, whether they are owned or rented. The amount you pay
depends on:
the valuation band your home falls into; and
whether you are entitled to any benefits or reductions.
Council Tax valuation bands for properties were decided by the government’s valuation officer in 1991.
There are eight bands, A to H, with A being the lowest. The full list of bands and the current Council Tax
charges for each are all available on the Council’s website at www.blackburn.gov.uk/counciltax.
Your Council Tax band is shown on the front of your Council Tax bill. You can visit www.voa.gov.uk where
you can find your property’s Council Tax band. You will also find information here about how to appeal
against your Council Tax band if you disagree with it.
Please note making an appeal does not allow you to withhold payment of your Council Tax bill.
If your appeal is successful we will adjust your future instalments or refund any overpayment.
Fraud prevention
All councils take part in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching exercise which checks Council Tax
data against benefit claim records. For full information on how your data may be used please refer to the
Council’s website.
If your circumstances change
You are required to let us know about any changes in your home circumstances within 21 days. This is
particularly important if you are claiming Council Tax Support, discounts or exemption for your property. If
you do not, or the information you provide is not correct, you will have to pay us the difference between
the amount of Council Tax you have paid and the amount you should have paid following the change in
circumstances. You may also have to pay an additional penalty.04 Your responsibilities Payments You are required to pay your Council Tax on time as shown on your bill. If you do not, we will send you a reminder. If we have to send you more reminders over the financial year, we will ask you to pay the total amount you owe for the year all at once. If you do not, we may take legal action against you and you will also have to pay court costs. Making payment easier You can choose to pay your Council Tax monthly in 10 instalments by direct debit. This is quick and easy to arrange and your bank or building society will then pay us direct from your account. Go online to complete a Direct Debit form at www.blackburn.gov.uk/counciltax or telephone (01254) 585585. You can request to pay Council Tax in 12 cash instalments, instead of the normal ten, by contacting us before April 15th 2015. You can still request extra instalments after April 15th, and we will spread the charge over the remaining number of months. We will also consider weekly payments if you are in receipt of benefits or on a low income. Remember your bill will tell you when your payments are due. People with disabilities If you, or someone who lives with you, have a disability and need an extra bathroom, kitchen or extra space in your property, we may reduce your Council Tax by the equivalent of one valuation band. This applies even if your home is already in band A. The Council will need to be satisfied that the space or room is essential, or of major importance, to the well-being of the disabled resident. If you want more information on any aspect of your Council Tax including how to claim exemptions, discounts or how to inform us of a change to your property’s status you can contact us by going online at www.blackburn.gov.uk/counciltax or email us at counciltax@blackburn.gov.uk. How much Council Tax Support could you be entitled to? The maximum amount of Council Tax Support (CTS) that will be awarded to working age claimants will be 80%, this is after any other discount e.g. Single Person Discount has been awarded. People of state pension age who are liable for Council Tax may still be entitled to receive 100% CTS once a claim has been assessed, and after taking into account things like how much your Council Tax is, your income, any savings or investments you might have and other people who might live in your house. How to claim Council Tax Support? Anyone can apply for Council Tax Support by completing a claim form, which will then be assessed and if you qualify your Council Tax will automatically be reduced and a new bill will be issued. You can make a claim for Council Tax Support and Housing Benefit online at www.blackburn.gov.uk/ benefits or by ringing the helpline on (01254) 585585. What happens if your circumstances change? If you do qualify for CTS and there is a change in your circumstances you must tell us straight away, as this could affect the amount of Council Tax we charge you. If you fail to tell us of a change you may lose your entitlement to CTS – It is your responsibility to tell us of any change in your circumstances as we will recover any money overpaid from you. This may involve issuing you with a court summons and adding extra costs to your account. You can report a change in circumstances on-line by going to www.blackburn.gov.uk/benefits.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council 05
Properties which are not occupied and exempt from Council Tax
Exemptions may be available for empty properties which are not occupied, some examples are:
Unfurnished and unoccupied (100% discount for up to three months)
Owned by a Charity (exempt for up to six months)
Left empty by someone who has gone to live in a residential care home
Usually lived in by a student, a minister of religion, a diplomat, someone in prison, or someone who
has moved out to receive or provide personal care
Empty because someone has died and the grant of probate or letters of administration have not been
completed (exempt for up to six months once probate has been granted)
Empty because the law prevents anyone from living there
Undergoing or requiring major structural work or repair (100% discount for up to 12 months)
Owners of unoccupied properties may not be entitled to any further discount where the exemption or
discount period has ended. Where a time limited exemption has been applied to a property a revised bill
will be issued just prior to the end of the exemption.
Second Homes and Long Term Empty Properties
Owners of second homes and furnished unoccupied properties are not entitled to a discount.
Owners of properties that remain unoccupied and unfurnished for more than 3 months will not be
entitled to any discount.
Owners of properties that remain empty and unfurnished for more than two years have to pay a
long-term empty property premium of 50% of the Council Tax. This means that these properties will
be liable to pay 150% of the Council Tax.
Changes to empty properties
With effect from 1st April 2015 there will be a change to the discount granted on some empty properties. For
properties that are empty and unfurnished from the 1st April 2015 the period of 100% discount will be reduced to
three months. This change will immediately apply to all properties that have already been empty for 3 months.
Properties which are occupied but exempt from Council Tax
We do not charge Council Tax for homes which are lived in only by:
People under the age of 18;
Students (including halls of residence); and/or
People who are severely mentally impaired;
An annexe (for example, a granny flat) lived in by a dependent relative
Other discounts
Unless you tell us differently, your Council Tax bill will assume that there are two or more adults aged 18 or
over living in your home.
If you are the only adult in your home (aged 18 or over), we will reduce your bill by 25%.
When considering the number of adults living in a property, we do not include:
Full time students, student nurses, apprentices and youth training trainees, 18 and 19 year olds who
are at school or have just left school
People who are severely mentally impaired
People staying in hospitals, care homes, or certain hostels or night shelters
People detained in a prison or other place of detention
Care workers working for low pay (usually for charities)
People caring for someone with a disability (who is not their partner or child under 18)
Members of visiting forces and some international institutions, and their dependents
Members of religious communities
Non-British students and their dependents or persons prevented from taking employment or claiming
Council Tax Support.06
Your Council Tax Bill
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585585 01254
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585585
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Issued on: 16-MAR-2015
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1 ANY STREET Bar Code Reference
BLACKBURN Bar
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BarCode
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CodeReference
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AB1 2CD
Reason for bill
Reason
Reason
Reasonfor
for
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bill
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Annual
Property to which the bill refers HOW THE TAX IS ARRIVED AT FOR BAND A %
Blackburn with Darwen XXX.XX 0.0
MR A N OTHER
Lancashire Pcc XXX.XX 0.0
1 ANY STREET Lancashire Fire Auth. XX.XX 0.0
BLACKBURN
AB1 2CD
Parish
valuation Band B
Disabled Band Total for Band XXX.XX 0.0
Property Ref 12345678
Charge for Period Band B 01-APR-2015 31-MAR-2016 XXX.XX
Council Tax Support 01-APR-2015 31-MAR-2016 XXX.XX
Total Amount due - to be paid as detailed below £XXX.XX
FIRST INSTALMENT DUE ON 15-APR-2015 1 X XX.XX
9 OTHER INSTALMENTS DUE ON 15-MAY-2015 TO 15-JAN-2016 9 X XX.XX
INSTALMENTS TO BE PAID BY: DIRECT DEBITS 15TH MONTHLYBlackburn with Darwen Borough Council 07
1 How and where you can contact the council.
2 Your Council Tax account reference - to help us deal with your
enquiries more speedily, please use this reference if you contact us.
3 Bar Code - This allows you to use your Council Tax bill to pay cash at any
Post Office or Paypoint outlet.
4 A breakdown of how your bill is made up. Some bills will include a
separate charge if the household is served by a town or parish council.
5 Where applicable, the percentage change to the Council Tax compared to
the previous financial year.
6 The code reference for the parish to which your property belongs.
7 The valuation band for your property.
8 The amount of Council Tax due for the period shown.
9 Where applicable any discount and/or Council Tax Support (previously
know as Council Tax Benefit) that you have been granted. These are
deducted from the annual charge.
10 The total amount of Council Tax that is due on your account for
2015/16 and where applicable, any arrears of Council Tax still
outstanding for previous years.
11 How and when your Council Tax is payable and any other
important information.Getting in touch
Blackburn with Darwen Council provides a wide range of services to residents and
businesses in the borough.
Information in an instant – The Council website www.blackburn.gov.uk
is a fast and simple way to get information about our services.
Follow us on twitter - @blackburndarwen
A good way to contact us about Council Tax or apply for benefits is through the easy
to use online forms which will ensure we receive and process the information much
quicker. Simply go to:
www.blackburn.gov.uk/counciltax or
www.blackburn.gov.uk/benefits
Pay it What to do if you have
You can pay your Council Tax difficulties paying your
online or set up a Direct Debit.
Council Tax
Apply for it If you have concerns about paying
You can apply for Council Tax your Council Tax or what benefits
exemptions or discounts. you are entitled to contact the
‘Advice for A
ll’ service.
Report it The service offers debt, welfare and
Tell us of a change of address. housing advice all in one place at
www.blackburn.gov.uk/ Blackburn Central Library. It provides
counciltax free, independent and high quality
advice.
Advice For All
Claim it Address: Blackburn Central Library,
Town Hall Street, Blackburn
You can make a claim for
Contact telephone numbers:
Council Tax support and 01254 266620 (Age UK) or
Housing Benefit at 0344 4889622 (CAB - 5p per minute
www.blackburn.gov.uk/ from BT landline)
benefits www.adviceforallbwd.org.ukYou can also read
