Budget Setting Info for Parish And Town Councils for 2025-26

LRALC provides specific support and advice to member councils not just on the process of budget setting, but on the specific issues locally, regionally, nationally, and globally which could have financial implications for councils.

We still see a number of councils where the precept or council tax has remained exactly the same to the penny 3 or more years. Those 3 years incorporated the financial aftershock of the covid lockdown, and the highest levels of inflation for a generation. For those councils who didn't follow our advice to be considering up to 10% increases in precept, the question they need to be asking themselves is "where did the extra money we needed come from". There was no away of avoiding the increased costs for any council, even just in terms of salaries, let alone contractors and other services. As such it is possible councils drew on their reserves, which means these will need topping back up to the levels specified in the Practitioner's Guide.

Finally, a reminder that setting a budget by agreeing the council tax you want to charge does not meet the requirements on the law. A budget should drive the precept, not the other way around. Many councils think they are giving their parishioners a break by freezing the precept/council tax. It may be worth all councillors being made aware that for an average parish council (i.e. its parish element of the overall council tax bill, a 10% increase (which for a £400,000 precept council brings in an extra £40,000) results in an increase in council tax equivalent to the cost of a can of pop a month (i.e. less than a pound).

You can also find parish precept and council tax information from government and NALC for the whole of England here: Council tax levels of local precepting authorities 2024/25.