Council tax comparison for unitary authorities
January 24, 2012 Leave a Comment
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | ||
| Peterborough | Con | £730.47 | £852.22 | £973.96 | £1095.71 | £1339.20 | £1582.69 | £1826.18 | £2191.42 |
| Thurrock | NOC | £867.54 | £1012.13 | £1156.72 | £1301.31 | £1590.49 | £1879.67 | £2168.85 | £2602.62 |
| Southend-on-Sea | Con | £877.62 | £1023.89 | £1170.16 | £1316.43 | £1608.97 | £1901.51 | £2194.05 | £2632.86 |
| Medway | Con | £883.85 | £1031.16 | £1178.47 | £1325.78 | £1620.40 | £1915.02 | £2209.63 | £2651.56 |
| Luton | Lab | £914.06 | £1066.41 | £1218.75 | £1371.10 | £1675.79 | £1980.48 | £2285.16 | £2742.20 |
| Milton Keynes | Con | £926.67 | £1081.11 | £1235.56 | £1390.00 | £1698.89 | £2007.78 | £2316.67 | £2780.00 |
| Bedford | NOC | £1035.86 | £1208.50 | £1381.14 | £1553.79 | £1899.08 | £2244.36 | £2589.65 | £3107.58 |
Comparing council tax rates across authorities is best described as problematical. With differences in size, responsibilities, facilities offered, and geography it is easy to see why such comparisons have only limited usefulness. Still, I find that people want to know whether they are paying over the odds, and one way to check is by comparison with other areas.
The table above only shows unitary authorities that are reasonably close to Southend-on-Sea. The table is sorted by band D rates, the most often used comparator. Southend-on-Sea comes out as mid-range, neither cheap nor especially dear.
In Southend-on-Sea the council tax works out as anywhere between £73.14 and £219.41 per month. I mention this because in May we have elections and I would wager that nowhere will turnout rise beyond 50%, and in many places will be significantly under 30%. This, of course, takes no account of those who are not registered to vote. You would think that tax-payers would want say in how their hard-earned wages are spent.
