Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 14950 on Council tax and with reference to the Provisional local government finance settlement: England, 2025 to 2026, published on 18 December 2024, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) increase in council tax receipts between 2024-25 and 2025-26 on which the core spending power estimates in the draft Settlement are based and (b) the proportion of the increase in council tax receipts that are expected to be derived from (i) increases in the level of council tax in (A) Band D and (B) and other bands and (ii) changes in net housing supply in 2025-26.

Growth in council tax revenue is calculated using two factors, growth in the size of the tax base, and levels of taxation. Council tax levels are assumed to increase in line with the principles set out at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement. More detail on the methodology including assumptions about the growth in the size of the tax base is available here.

The methodology used to calculate the expected increase in average Band D council tax in England is available in the Explanatory Note on Core Spending Power for the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2025-26.