“Villagers paying council tax are seeing their parish bills rise at a higher rate than the share they pay to larger authorities.
BBC News analysed the bills of more than 8,500 town and parish councils from 2013-14 to 2016-17.
Parish councillors say they are being asked to take on more responsibilities as their larger local authority counterparts make cuts.
The government said it expected parish councils to “demonstrate restraint”. …
BBC England’s data unit and BBC Newcastle found:
The total amount of tax collected by parish councils rose from £361m to £434m from 2013-14 to 2016-17
That saw the average bill rise from £50 to £57, a rise of 14%
Some parish councils have raised their share of the bill by far larger amounts
Parts of Kettering, West Berkshire, Peterborough, Rutland, Pendle, Harborough, Cornwall and Copeland saw the largest increases
Some 318 parish and town authorities out of 8,583 issued levies in 2016-17 that were at least double the amount they charged in 2013-14
Larger authorities are obliged to hold a referendum for any increases above 2%, although those responsible for adult social care are now allowed to increase bills by a further 3% for this purpose only.
Parish councils, which generally represent people with populations of less than 2,500, are not subject to the same cap. …”
East Devon Watch 