Councillor's call for council tax refund rejected

Powys residents will not get Council Tax refunds for missed waste and recycling collections, despite a call by a Newtown councillor for action.

And a senior councillor has provided an in-depth explanation of why a refund is not possible.

Earlier this month, Cllr Pete Lewington (Conservative – Newtown West) suggested that a Council Tax refund would be a “goodwill gesture” for residents due to the shambolic rollout of the new waste and recycling routes in Powys.

The move to new routes in March saw black bin and recycling boxes left in streets all around Powys due to collection failures – which has especially been the case on bank holidays

Cllr Pete Lewington (Conservative – Newtown West) pointed out that refunds are given for missed garden waste collection and wondered if it could be “extended” to waste and recycling.

Cllr Church has now responded to idea.

Cllr Church said:  “Waste and recycling collection service makes up a tiny part of the Council Tax bill.

“In the current year, 73 per cents  of the Council Tax collected is budgeted for spending on education and social services.

“The recycling and waste collection service is part of the 12 per cents that is shared with highways and public transport.”

He explained that the council had “estimated” that each weekly collection costs the Band D council tax payer just under £1.

This includes the cost of salaries, vehicles, fuel, depot and disposal costs.

Cllr Church said: “Council Tax is a statutory local tax set in accordance with national legislation.

“It is not a charge for individual services received, but a contribution towards the overall cost of delivering a wide range of services across Powys, including social care, education, highways and environmental services.

“The level of Council Tax is set based on the overall budget required to deliver these services across the area.”

The legal obligation on residents to pay Council Tax explains Cllr Church, is “not dependent” on the “frequency or quality” of any service to households.

Cllr Church said: “There is no provision within the Council Tax framework to offer refunds or reductions linked to missed or delayed service delivery, or the use of any service, including waste and recycling collections.

“This differs from discretionary services such as garden waste, where residents choose to pay a separate, direct charge for a specific service.”

The different types of Council Tax being paid would also need to be considered.

Cllr Church pointed out that residents in higher council tax bands will pay more than £1 per collection and those in lower are paying less.

Single-person households have a 25% discount on bills, and there are many residents on low incomes who do not pay the full Council Tax.

Cllr Church said: “If the council were able to issue a refund, we would need to determine who had missed a collection completely, not simply suffered a delay of hours or a day.

“The council would then need to calculate the appropriate refund based on the Council Tax paid by that household and apply it based upon the way that  is paid.

“If a collection is missed, the costs of running the service still apply.”

He added that refunds and their administration would also be need to be paid for in either cuts to the service or another part of the council.

Or covered by higher Council Tax bills.

Due to all these reasons Cllr Church believes a refund is “not in the best interests” of Council Tax payers to do.

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporting Service