Agenda item

Report for decision.

ORDERED that Executive:

1. Approve the council tax base for 2026/27 for the whole of Middlesbrough area as 37,062.20.
2. Approve 2,408.72 and 1,530.35 as the council tax bases for the parishes of Nunthorpe and Stainton & Thornton respectively for 2026/27.

AGREED that Executive:

3. Agree to notify the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Cleveland Fire Authority, and the Parish Councils of the 2026/27 council tax base.
4. Note the contents of the report.

The Executive Member for Finance submitted a report which sought approval of the council tax base for 2026/2027 and the retrospective approval of the council tax bases for the parishes of Nunthorpe and Stainton and Thornton for 2026/2027.

The Council had a statutory obligation to calculate a council tax base each financial year as part of its budget strategy. The starting point for the 2026/27 calculation was the number of dwellings on the Valuation List as at 10 September 2025, adjusted for exemptions and disabled reductions. Further adjustments were made for discounts, exemptions, premiums, and local council tax support.

These figures were converted into Band D equivalents, calculated at 37,703.15 for 2026/27. Applying the estimated collection rate of 98.3% resulted in a final council tax base of 37,062.20 for Middlesbrough, rounded to two decimal places. This represented an increase of 548.30 Band D equivalents (1.5%) compared to 2025/26, mainly due to new housing. Growth in the tax base was estimated to reduce the need for budget reductions and provide approximately £1.138m additional funding for service investment in 2026/27.

Since 2013/14, the Housing Growth Strategy had delivered an increase of 6,891 Band D equivalents (23%), generating a cumulative benefit of around £14.3m. It was noted that 49.7% of households were in Band A and 85% in Bands A–C, meaning most residents paid less than Band D Council Tax, which required higher rates to achieve comparable income. Middlesbrough remained in the lower quartile nationally for average Council Tax per dwelling (£1,437 in 2025/26 versus £1,770 nationally).

The council tax bases for Nunthorpe and Stainton and Thornton parishes were calculated at 2,408.72 and 1,530.35 respectively. The Council was required to notify major precepting authorities and parish councils of the tax base by 31 January 2026.

A discussion took place regarding the government’s recent announcement of the so-called Mansion Tax. It was commented that the principle of the initiative was welcomed.

OPTIONS

The Council had no option but to calculate a council tax base each year as it was a statutory requirement. The basis of calculation was prescribed by the legislation, apart from the estimated collection rate for 2026/27 which was applied to calculate the council tax base for 2026/27 for which alternative rates could have been used in the calculation. The estimated collection rate for 2026/27 that had been used was the estimate of the percentage of the 2026/27 Council Tax which would be collected in total based on the latest information available regarding collection rates. Members noted that this was not the expected in-year collection rate in 2026/27.

ORDERED that Executive:

1. Approve the council tax base for 2026/27 for the whole of Middlesbrough area as 37,062.20.
2. Approve 2,408.72 and 1,530.35 as the council tax bases for the parishes of Nunthorpe and Stainton & Thornton respectively for 2026/27.

AGREED that Executive:

3. Agree to notify the Police and Crime Commissioner, the Cleveland Fire Authority, and the Parish Councils of the 2026/27 council tax base.
4. Note the contents of the report.

REASONS

The recommendations were supported by the following reasons:

a)    The Local Government Finance Act 1992 required a billing authority to calculate its council tax base for each financial year.

b)      The method of calculation was specified in the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, which required the calculation to be approved before 31st January in the year preceding the relevant financial year.