Woking Borough Council residents face 10% council tax increase

Council tax bills are set to rise across Surrey next year

Bankrupt Woking Borough Council can increase its council tax share by 10%.

Simon Hoare, local government minister, gave Woking permission to increase council tax beyond the 2.99% normally permitted for borough councils.

Woking's leader, Councillor Ann-Marie Barker, said a letter from the minister reflected work that had been done with government.

The council issued a section 114 notice in June, effectively declaring itself bankrupt with a £2.6bn debt pile.

A decision on how much to raise the share of council tax paid by Woking residents will be expected in February when the council confirms its 2024/25 budget.

In Surrey's two tier system, council tax paid by residents is split between the county council, the district and borough councils and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

In the current year, the average Band D home in Woking pays £2,248.77 in council tax, of which £1,675.08 goes to the county council, £263.12 to the borough council and £310.57 to the PCC.

The largest share goes to Surrey County Council, whose leader confirmed on Tuesday that the authority would be likely to increase council tax by the maximum amount allowed of 4.99%.

This amount is higher because the county council has responsibility for adult social care.

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Ms Barker said Mr Hoare's letter reflected the "positive and collaborative approach" the council had taken to working with government and the steps that were being taken to ensure Woking "lived within its means".

In working towards the long-term sustainability of the council, and given the "exceptional financial circumstances", the minister said a council tax increase of 10% would be "appropriate and proportionate".

A council spokesperson said the Woking Borough Council element of residents' total council tax bill was 12%, and an increase of up to 10% for this part would be an increase of just over 1% of the total bill.

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