How much Council Tax you pay and how it is spent
We publish information on how your Council Tax payments are spent and what they pay for.
We collect the Council Tax you pay, but only keep around ten pence in every pound to pay for our services.
The remaining money goes to the following organisations, who set their own council tax, to pay for the services they provide:
- Hampshire County Council
- Hampshire County Council Adult Social Care
- Police and Crime Commissioner
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service
Council Tax charges for 2023/24
A small percentage of Council Tax money goes to town and parish councils in New Forest. For financial information, download the document below.
Council Tax for Town and Parish Councils 2023-24 (PDF) [79KB]
Council Tax for 2023/24
We collect £151 million of Council Tax, which is spent by each authority to deliver its services, as per the breakdown below.
- Hampshire County Council: £105.54 million
- Police and Crime Commissioner: £18.17 million
- New Forest District Council: £14.02 million
- Town and parish councils: £7.55 million
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service: £5.81 million
Council Tax payments are calculated based on each property's Council Tax band. For an average Band D property, the annual Council Tax for financial year 2023/24 is split as detailed in the table below.
Organisation receiving Council Tax money | Amount | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Hampshire County Council | £1,268.53 | 60.7% |
Hampshire County Council Adult Social Care Precept | £191.72 | 9.2% |
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service | £80.43 | 3.8% |
New Forest District Council | £193.99 | 9.3% |
Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire | £251.46 | 12.0% |
Town and Parish Councils (average) | £104.43 | 5.0% |
Totals | £2,090.56 | 100% |
Council budget 2023/24
Our total gross revenue expenditure in financial year 2023/24 is budgeted at £109,083,000. This excludes spending on council-owned housing services, as this is paid for by housing rents.
After allowing for income of £95.063 million, mainly from reimbursement of benefits, income generated from services, non-domestic rates, interest on balances and government grants, our Council Tax requirement for 2023/24 is £14,020,000.
Our estimated budget is £1,794,000 more than in financial year 2022/23. The reasons for this are:
- pay and price increases: £2,180,000
- increased cost of Homelessness: £880,000
- investment in Community Safety: £300,000
- investment in Service Improvement programme: £250,000
- investment in resources aligned to Corporate Plan delivery: £339,000
- reduction in contribution to Capital Programme: -£1,050,000
- ongoing savings and income generation: -£1,081,000
- net other adjustments: -£24,000
We plan to spend £42,641,000 on our capital programme for 2023/24, as shown below.
- housing: £28,910,000.
- coastal protection: £2,751,000
- depot site: £4,875,000
- vehicles, plant and equipment: £3,212,000
- mitigation schemes: £1,000,000
- waste strategy: £592,000
- public conveniences: £519,000
- economic sustainability and regeneration: £250,000
- sustainability fund: £250,000
- UK Shared Prosperity Fund: £42,000
- Rural England Prosperity Fund: £240,000
Coastal protection
The Environment Agency is responsible for the management of the risk of flood for rivers and sea defences in England and Wales.
The Southern Region's gross expenditure for 2023/24 is £129,642,000. A charge is made to Hampshire County Council for costs associated with this function.
The total of levies charged for the Southern Region for 2023/24 has increased to £1,594,000 from £1,548,000 in 2022/23.
Town and parish councils
For information about local town and parish councils with a requirement of more than £140,000 in 2023/24, download the document below.
Further information on Town and Parish Councils 2023-24 (PDF) [162KB]
This document includes contact details for the town clerks for each town and parish. If you have any questions, contact the relevant town clerk.