Extra support to help poorest Horsham district households pay their council tax bills

The budget and council tax for the coming year were set during a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (February 22).

It included an amendment from Lib Dem leader Martin Boffey to increase the cap for Horsham's Discretionary Council Tax Relief from £150 to £195.

This means any working-age council tax support claimants living in Band A, B or C homes will have their bill from the district council reduced to zero while those living in Band D homes will only pay £25.

The amendment was supported by a number of Conservative councillors.

The change will be added to the projects receiving money from the one-off £2.9m funding guarantee grant from the government. There will be:

• £1.15m to help support residents in need through the cost of living
• £1.3m for the food waste collection implementation
• £150,000 for community safety
• £300,000 for a new path around Horsham Park in the capital programme, and
• £50,000 for the painting of the street furniture in Horsham town centre in time for the Coronation on May 6.

The council tax bill for everyone else was rose by 2.99% – the maximum allowed by a district council – increasing Band D bills by £4.85 from £162.09 to £166.94.

The net revenue budget – which covers the day-to-day running of the council – was set at £13.5m, £1.2m higher than in 2022/23.

As with other councils up and down the country, this increase reflected the ‘significant impact’ of inflation as well as salary cost-pressures.

An £8.5m capital programme was also approved, which covers one-off projects such as infrastructure improvements.

And the New Homes Bonus earmarked reserve was renamed as the Environment and Infrastructure earmarked reserve.

It sets aside £15m to be spent on climate change, key infrastructure replacements, and helping to reduce the council’s direct emissions with the aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Martin Boffey, Lib Dem group leader, explained the extra £150,000 for community safety would help HDC better response to a recent surge of crime and anti-social behaviour, while the higher discretionary relief cap would mean extra help available for residents who are entitled to council tax support.