Data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) shows that parish and town council spending will increase from £708m in 2023-24 to £783m in 2024-25, with the average council tax surcharge rising by 8.5% for the coming year.
Cllr Keith Stevens, chair of the National Association of Local Councils, says parish and town councils “are the unsung heroes of local government, stepping up to play a more active role in improving their communities, and increasingly taking on more responsibilities from financially challenged larger local authorities”. While they represent just 1.9% of overall council tax, he added, “they are investing five times more in local communities than they were two and half decades ago”.
Read more on the Guardian website here.
Click here to view the council tax levels set by councils in England for the financial year 2024/25.