Handy booklet is your guide to Council Tax
Monday 08 March
Council Tax Bills for 2010-11 will be dropping through letter boxes across East Devon from 11 March.
The bills may prompt some residents to reach for the phone if they feel they need to know more about the amount they are being asked to pay. Before dialling, please remember two things:
- This is a very hectic few weeks for staff in EDDC’s council tax service, so phone lines may be busy and we’d ask you to be patient if you can’t get through first time
- To save you time, have a look through this year’s council tax guidance booklet, produced jointly by EDDC and its partner councils in Devon, together with the police and fire authorities – it may just save you a phone call.
An A5 booklet that accompanies this year’s bills explains where the money goes and makes it easier for householders to understand the charging system and the many ways in which people can get help with payments.
Receiving help
The booklet has 40 pages of facts and figures, diagrams and pictures. It covers every aspect of the Council Tax, from who receives the money to how it is spent and from what each parish will pay to how people on a low income can receive help. It also has EDDC’s opening hours listed on the back cover.
Included are contributions from:
- Devon County Council
- Devon and Cornwall Police Authority
- Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority
- East Devon District Council
The joint council tax and performance summary is produced by the organisations listed above working together and sharing the costs. Government legislation requires these authorities to inform council tax payers about many aspects of the council tax. The booklet is considered to be the most user-friendly way of presenting the information at a reasonable cost (16p per household) and also makes it possible to pass on other useful facts about the work these organisations do throughout the year.
There are sections on:
- Coping on a low income
- Helping pensioners or people who are disabled
- Dealing with financial or legal problems
- How the council tax “cake” is shared out across Devon
- How each authority spends the money it gets
- What services you get from EDDC
- How these match the Council’s priorities
There are also useful phone numbers including:
- EDDC’s Council Tax and Benefits Helpline
- Business Rates Helpline
- Citizens’ Advice Bureaux
- CAREdirect
- Registering to vote
- Concessionary Bus Fares Helpline
- The Benefit Fraud Hotline
Councillor Andrew Moulding, EDDC’s Portfolio Holder Resources, said: “The booklet contains a great deal of handy information for people living in the district. The East Devon pages make it clear how much of your money is spent directly by EDDC on providing and improving services in this district. For example, a Band D council tax payer will be paying £121.78 this year – that’s just £2.34 a week – and we think this shows what good value council tax payers get in East Devon”.
The Council Tax bills themselves are now more user-friendly, with clearer contact details and more easily identifiable payment options.
To reduce call handling time, there are direct lines for Council Tax and Benefit enquiries. However, with some 60,000 bills issued, the first week or so will bring a high level of enquiries.
An EDDC spokesman said: “Your call is important to us, but we expect to experience above average call volumes in the immediate period after bills are received. So we would ask customers to please be patient and bear with us”.
The direct line for Council Tax and Benefit enquiries is: 01395 517 446.
The number for all general EDDC enquiries is 01395 516 551.
With their Council Tax Bill, householders will also receive a notice giving details of changes to Refuse and Recycling collections over the Easter, May and August Bank Holiday weekends.
For further press information please contact:
Nick Stephen, Communications Officer, on 01395 517 559
East Devon District Council, Knowle, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 8HL
