Is EDDC just lean or “lean and mean”? Could we all afford a bit more to restore some local services? – Owl

Chloe Parkman www.devonlive.com

It is good news for East Devon residents as a new study has revealed that this area has topped the list for having the cheapest council tax across the whole of the UK.

The study carried out by Mashroom, which explores the cheapest and most expensive areas in the UK are for council tax, unveiled that East Devon’s Band A tax (£101.19) is 179 per cent cheaper than the most expensive area, Blaby.

It comes after Devon Live reported that the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that under current Government spending plans, a rise of at least 3.6 per cent on council tax bills will be needed per year just for town halls to keep services running at the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic.

But the researchers said this would likely be a minimum requirement, with extra cost pressures and demand potentially meaning bills could rise by up to five per cent every year up to 2024/25.

And they said social care aims announced by the Government last month are currently underfunded and would cost £5 billion a year in the long term – almost three times the additional funding allocated over the next three years. Read here.

What is council tax exactly and what is it used for?

Council tax is the money you are required to pay to your Local Council and is different depending on the Council, the money then goes towards funding local services.

The local services that are funded by your council tax include but are not limited to police and fire services, leisure and recreation projects, libraries and education services, rubbish and waste collection, transport services, street lighting and cleaning, road maintenance, environmental health and administration and record-keeping.