Folkestone and Hythe Town and Parish Council Precept 2025/26 - Proposed Council Tax Base
The setting of Council Tax is an extended process run by every local authority in the country. It requires some arcane maths and a huge number of variables, and gets more complicated the bigger the authority, but for town and parish councils, there is a straightforward equation at the heart of it:
Band D Council Tax figure (£) x Council Tax Base = Total Council Tax Revenue (called the Precept).
If the world was easy, every home would be the same council tax band, and if everyone paid Council Tax at the same rate, the Council Tax base would be the number of homes in the area. But they aren't, and people don't.
So although the starting point of the Council Tax base calculations is the number of houses in a place, then you add in the complicating bits to get you to the “Council Tax Base” figure, which adjusts that total to deal with homes under Band D, those over Band D, those paying less as they have Council Tax Reduction, those paying more because its a second home or been left empty… You get the idea.
So after the Valuation Office confirm that number of chargeable properties in each area each Autumn, a lot of maths is run, and the calculation of the Council Tax Base per Town and Parish is produced, which is then essential to the Town and Parish Councils is setting their Council Tax increase for next year.
They then work out how much money they need to spend, take off any non-Council Tax based income and end up with their “Precept figure” which is the amount they need from Council Tax payers. Divide that by your tax base, and you get Band D Council Tax equivalent. Simple, right?
I can feel your eyes glazing over, but stick with it.
Today was the day that Folkestone & Hythe sent the proposed (expected, unless anyone finds a mistake!) figures out to the Town and Parishes across the district, right on schedule. Those figures are below, and I've shown them against the corresponding figure for last year, and shown the percentage rise too, because I just LOVE a spreadsheet.
| Tax Base Rise 24/25 to 25/26 | Tax Base 2025/26 | Tax Base 2024/25 | |
| Folkestone | 2.18% | 15230.46 | 14906.09 |
| Sandgate | 7.92% | 2384.65 | 2209.56 |
| Hythe | 1.57% | 6446.53 | 6346.76 |
| Lydd | 3.40% | 2262.20 | 2187.85 |
| New Romney | 2.96% | 3077.06 | 2988.46 |
| Acrise | -7.04% | 88.23 | 94.91 |
| Elham | -1.08% | 726.43 | 734.39 |
| Elmsted | 4.24% | 200.66 | 192.49 |
| Hawkinge | 1.28% | 3121.13 | 3081.56 |
| Lyminge | -1.59% | 1135.19 | 1153.56 |
| Lympne | -0.08% | 647.64 | 648.17 |
| Monks Horton | 6.02% | 64.26 | 60.61 |
| Newington | 0.02% | 147.64 | 147.61 |
| Paddlesworth | 3.29% | 19.44 | 18.82 |
| Postling | -2.94% | 108.67 | 111.96 |
| Saltwood | 0.15% | 395.68 | 395.07 |
| Sellindge | 1.70% | 893.14 | 878.25 |
| Stanford | -0.11% | 190.45 | 190.66 |
| Stelling Minnis | -2.02% | 282.66 | 288.48 |
| Stowting | -1.96% | 119.44 | 121.83 |
| Swingfield | -0.70% | 483.62 | 487.01 |
| Brenzett | 0.57% | 152.60 | 151.73 |
| Brookland | -0.38% | 179.57 | 180.26 |
| Burmarsh | -0.59% | 111.60 | 112.26 |
| Dymchurch | 3.21% | 1366.79 | 1324.33 |
| Ivychurch | -0.73% | 92.18 | 92.86 |
| Newchurch | -0.94% | 119.94 | 121.08 |
| Old Romney | 5.63% | 89.52 | 84.75 |
| St Mary in the Marsh | 10.77% | 1217.16 | 1098.78 |
| Snargate | 5.61% | 59.10 | 55.96 |
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