How the adult social care precept is shown on the Council Tax bill

The council tax attributable to Devon County Council includes a precept to fund adult social care. For adult social care authorities, council tax bills show two percentage changes: one for the part of the overall change attributable to the adult social care precept, and one for the part attributable to general expenditure.

There is a 1% increase in the overall council tax in 2019/20 for adult social care. The increases in council tax attributable to adult social care for 2016/17 to 2019/20 are added together to show the total amount of your council tax bill that relates to the adult social care component in 2019/20.

County Council Tax due for each property valuation band

Valuation band Government multiplier Adult social care precept General expenditure (other) Council Tax Devon CC
Ratio % of band D £ £ £
A 6/9 66.7 65.40 857.46 922.86
B 7/9 77.8 76.30 1,000.37 1,076.67
C 8/9 88.9 87.20 1,143.28 1,230.48
D 1 100.0 98.10 1,286.19 1,384.29
E 11/9 122.2 119.90 1,572.01 1,691.91
F 13/9 144.4 141.70 1,857.83 1,199.53
G 15/9 166.7 163.50 2,143.65 2,307.15
H 18/9 200.0 196.20 2,572.38 2,768.58

Band D illustration

Year Council Tax – General Council Tax –
Adult Social Care		 Council Tax – Band D
2016/17* Council Tax £ 1,184.39 23.23 1,207.62
Increase % 1.99 2.00 3.99
2017/18 Council Tax £ 1,208.46 59.46 1,267.92
Increase % 1.99 3.00 4.99
2018/19 Council Tax £ 1,246.41 84.78 1,331.19
Increase % 2.99 2.00 4.99
2019/20 Council Tax £ 1,286.19 98.10 1,384.29
Increase % 2.99 1.00 3.99

* In 2015/16 there was no separate adult social care element (precept). The County Council part of the bill for a band D property was £1,161.27.

The settlement has set the Council Tax increase that will trigger the need for a referendum, excluding the social care precept, at 3% for 2019/20, the same level as 2018/19.

The adult social care Precept regulations have remained unchanged. In 2016/17, the social care precept was capped at 2% per annum for the period 2016/17 to 2019/20. Central Government changed these regulations in 2017/18 and allowed authorities to increase the precept to a maximum of 3% per annum over the period 2017/18 to 2019/20 providing the total increase over the three years did not exceed 6%. The Council increased the adult social care precept by 3% in 2017/18 and 2% in 2018/19 leaving 1% available for 2019/20.

In 2019/20 the adult social care Precept will increase by 1%, which is 1% of the total 2018/19 bill of £1,331.19 and not 1% of the adult social care element of £84.78. Likewise, the 2.99% increase shown against the ‘general’ line above is in fact 2.99% of the total 2018/19 bill and not just the ‘general’ element of the 2018/19 bill. This is how Central Government’s regulations require us to show it.

The adult social care figure shown above (Band D illustration) of £98.10 is calculated as £1,331.19 x 1% = £13.32 + £84.78 from 2018/19 to give the total adult social care precept of £98.10 in the Band D bill for 2019/20.