(NEW DRAFT) Our budget and Council Tax charges

How the County Council plans to spend its money.

1 Our 2024-2025 budget

From the Leader of West Sussex County Council

"West Sussex County Council will spend £2 billion to deliver day-to-day services in the coming year to a growing population of approximately 882,600 residents and 42,600 businesses across our county.

To continue to provide these vital services and meet higher inflation rates we need to increase the county council’s element of Council Tax. Details of the increase are on the about the Council Tax charge page.

This will allow us to continue to deliver our Council Plan priorities and support those most in need, whilst investing in services used by all who live, work and visit West Sussex.

Our budget includes an additional £81.9 million to maintain services for:

  • vulnerable children and young people
  • adults’ social care
  • maintaining the county’s 4,000km of roads
  • managing increased costs, as inflation levels remain high.

We appreciate the pressures that many people in our communities are facing. Help is available and we encourage anyone struggling to pay their council tax to contact their local district or borough council to see if they are eligible for a discount or exemption."

Paul Marshall, Leader of West Sussex County Council

For more information from the Leader, see our budget news page.

Also see general information about:

The current budget and your Council Tax

Each year, West Sussex County Council approves the revenue budget for the next year. They do this alongside a five-year capital programme.

Setting the budget involves agreeing statutory and discretionary fees and charges. You can find these in the 'Fees and charges schedule' on the budget documents page.

The next pages will give you information about the budget. They will also explain how it relates to your Council Tax bill. You can find detailed information for this year, and past years, on the budget documents page.

Download and print

You can download and print a document version of these pages.

2 How we spend our funds

For 2024-2025, the county council has approved planned gross expenditure of £2 billion across the following areas:

The money will come from: [insert relevant image]

 

How spending has changed since 2023-2024

For details of how the spending for 2024-2025 has changed from 2023-2024, see the 2024-2025 budget book, on the budget documents page.

3 Our capital investment and expenditure

In addition to our £2 billion gross expenditure on day-to-day services, the county council has a five-year capital investment programme for longer term improvements. We expect to spend £131.6m on planned investment in capital projects for 2024-2025 and £695m over the next five years.

This 2024-2025 spend includes:

  • £17m for environmental projects to help reduce the county’s carbon footprint.
  • £59m in highways and transport reflecting its importance for economic growth.
  • £33m investment in the county’s schools, early year settings and accommodation to support vulnerable children.

The below graph shows the total 2024-2025 capital expenditure. It also shows the allocation of spending between services.

Total capital expenditure of £131.6 million. This is made up of: £30.1m for managing schools and education, £2.7m children's social care and supporting young people, £2.9m for Fire and Rescue Service, £0.1m for supporting local communities, £16.9m for protecting the environment, recycling and waste disposal, £14.4m for running our organisation, £59.1m for maintenance of our roads and providing transport, and £5.4m for supporting the local economy.

4 Council Tax charges

The amount of Council Tax you pay depends on your Council Tax band, which is based on the value of your home in 1991. For Council Tax banding queries, contact the Valuation Office Agency.

Charges for 2024-2025

This table shows the county council charges for 2024-2025:

Valuation band Core charge Adult Social Care Precept Overall charge
A £977.58 £165.72 £1,143.30
B £1,140.51 £193.34 £1,333.85
C £1,303.44 £220.96 £1,524.40
D £1,466.37 £248.58 £1,714.95
E £1,792.23 £303.82 £2,096.05
F £2,118.09 £359.06 £2,477.15
G £2,443.95 £414.30 £2,858.25
H £2,932.74 £497.16 £3,429.90

In addition, your bill includes charges for your:

  • district or borough council
  • Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner
  • town or parish council.

Details of your full Council Tax charge are in your bill. See paying your Council Tax.

5 Council Tax calculation

The West Sussex County Council (WSCC) part of your Council Tax charge is allocated into two parts:

  • WSCC core charge
  • Adult Social Care Precept

Adult Social Care Precept

The government introduced the Adult Social Care Precept in 2016 to help councils respond to the rising demand on adult social care services. We must spend the income from the precept on these services. See the Adult Social Care Precept statement.

Increase calculation

The WSCC part of your Council Tax charge will increase by 4.99% in 2024-2025. For an average Band D household, this increase is equivalent to around £1.57 per week.

The 4.99% increase is allocated:

  • 2.99% for the WSCC core charge
  • 2% for the Adult Social Care Precept

When comparing the increase between last year and this year on your bill, it may look like the increase is higher than shown. This is because the percentage is applied to both the WSCC core charge and the Adult Social Care Precept from the previous year combined. See the example table below for an explanation.

The amounts in this example are based on a Band D property and have been rounded to two decimal places:

Charge 2023 to 2024  2024 to 2025  Amount increase
WSCC core charge £1,417.50 £1,466.37 £48.78 (2.99% of £1,633.41)
Adult Social Care Precept £215.91 £248.58 £32.67 (2% of £1,633.41)
WSCC total charge £1,633.41 £1,714.95 £81.45 (4.99% of £1,633.41)

 

6 Paying your Council Tax

You pay your Council Tax to your district or borough council.

For more information, enter your postcode on our how to pay Council Tax page. This will direct you to your district or borough council's website.

Help to pay your Council Tax

Your district or borough council will also give you information about help to pay Council Tax. This includes discounts and exemptions if they apply.

We offer help, advice and practical support on topics ranging from money management to energy saving. See our pages about the cost of living.

8 Contact us

Additional information

You can download and print a copy of these pages:

Last updated:
29 October 2024
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