A letter from the Leader of the Council
Your Council Tax and Business Rates for 2023/24 and our performance and spending plans
Dear Resident
Your Council Tax for 2023/24
Times are tough this year for many people, and I want you to know that the Council is here for you. We want to put more money in your pocket at a time when every penny counts for every person.
We are one of a handful of Councils in the country to freeze the core element of our Council Tax, and we are going even further this year, by giving back £100 to people who live in a property that is Band A to D and not in receipt of local Council Tax support. Putting a total of £1.7m back in the pockets of those that really need it.
If this is you, there is nothing you need to do – the rebate will be given automatically.
It is important that we support vulnerable people, and we will invest over £70m in adult social care support. This comes directly from the precept you pay in – and is increasing by two per cent this year. We will use some of this money to build a new £9m community day care facility in partnership with communities.
This means the Kensington and Chelsea element of the overall Band D bill will increase from £968.88 to £988.26, an increase of less than £20. While our Council Tax will freeze, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has added his own increase to your bill, which can be seen in the breakdown. It is an additional 9.7 per cent increase, costing a typical Band D property an extra £38.55.
Our commitment to support people sits with the priorities set out in our new four-year plan to make the borough greener, safer and fairer. We are holding Council Tax at low levels and giving money back as well as making our Council homes safer, building more homes, supporting vulnerable people, creating amazing public and open spaces, keeping our streets clean, providing the best waste collection service in the country, and working with residents and businesses to deliver net zero.
Next year the Council intends to spend nearly £600m on homes, roads, open spaces, and schools.
Finally, we really do appreciate that many people will be worried about being able to pay their Council Tax. Please get in touch with us if this is you. The Council currently continues to offer the maximum local Council Tax relief – up to 100 per cent for approximately 13,000 residents on the lowest incomes. This is one of the very few schemes in the country to still offer 100 per cent support to those who need it.
I do hope the decisions we have taken this year will help people to weather the storm, and we can all work together for a borough that is Greener, Safer, Fairer.
Thank you
Elizabeth Campbell
Leader, Kensington and Chelsea Council