Council tax
The Government announced that they would allow districts to increase council tax by up to 3% or £5 a year on a Band D equivalent property, if that is greater than 3%, without triggering a referendum. Their spending power calculation for 2026/27 assumes that districts will increase their council tax by whichever is the highest.
We have decided to follow the government’s lead to maximise our spending power potential whilst keeping costs low for residents and continuing to provide Wyre's vital front-line services. This equates to a rise of £6.97 (2.99%) a year on a Band D property, or just 13p per week, and means that the overall cost for all Wyre's services will be 66p per day.
Where does your council tax go?
Council tax is made up of a number of payments to the authorities that provide services in the area:
- Wyre Council
- Lancashire County Council
- Police and Crime Commissioner
- Combined Fire Authority
- Parish and Town Councils
Wyre Council is the billing authority and collects council tax on behalf of all these agencies however Wyre's portion represents 10% or £240.05 (on a band D property) of the total amount of your bill.
How has Government funding changed?
2026/27 was the first multi-year settlement since 2015/16 and provides more certainty. However, the change in core spending power over the 3-yr period equals a 6.42% reduction on average for shire districts and a £1.1m reduction for Wyre between 2025/26 and 2028/29, despite new food waste collection burden.
A Full Business Rates Reset is taking place in 2026/27. This is intended to rebalance local authorities’ baseline funding needs whilst allowing them to retain an element of growth. However, growth is expected to be the exception in year one and 2026/27 will see Wyre exit the 50% Lancashire Business Rate Pool as little, if any, growth is expected.
How have we compensated for the reduction in funding?
We’ve prepared for it over the years by reducing spending, being a member of the Lancashire Business Rates Pool since 2016/17, making sound treasury management decisions including going debt free in 2022/23 and balancing the books through efficiency savings, income generation and prudent financial management including exploring commercial opportunities.
Key decisions on pension prepayments, business rate pooling and debt rescheduling have meant that there has been less pressure on services to make cuts and efficiencies generated through digitalisation and other initiatives have been able to be ploughed back into service delivery.
Efficiency savings assist the delivery of the council’s corporate priorities supporting the continued improvement of services for our residents, but these are not always readily achievable when dealing with increased demand. However, the Council Plan, includes a strand of ‘Customer Focused and Innovative’ work that aims to provide cashable efficiencies to support bridging the budget gap.
A Transformation Strategy has been developed which will help shift the focus away from using reserves to balance the budget and move towards a more formal efficiency programme to help reduce the gap.
Wyre has never shied away from challenging how we deliver services or making difficult decisions and will continue to do so. This means continually reviewing how we operate, being innovative and ensuring services meet the needs of our communities.
What does the budget mean for residents?
We've been steadfast in protecting and improving council services, so residents consistently receive high standards of delivery.
Our latest Life in Wyre Survey results show that 64% of our residents are satisfied or very satisfied with where they live.
What can we expect in future?
2026/27 was the first multi-year settlement since 2015/16 and provides more certainty for the next 3 years. There figures are however, provisional and subject to change.