With the start of the new year councils along with the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner are busy working on budgets for delivery of services in 2025/26 that will ultimately form the council tax bills that will land through doors in Penrith ahead of the new financial year in April.
Westmorland and Furness Council the Cumbria Police Fire and Crime Commissioner are both currently running public consultations on their budget plans for the next financial year and the council tax and precepts they plan to charge households from April.
The council tax bill is made up of the amounts charged by Westmorland and Furness Council including a social care charge along with precepts for Police, Fire and Town and Parish councils.
Based on the consultation proposals and the amount recommended by the town councils finance committee be approved by the town council later this month as its precept we can reveal the forecast council tax bills for Penrith households from April 2025.
| WAF | Fire | Police | PTC | Total | |
| Band A | £1,279.30 | £62.16 | £216.00 | £55.95 | £1,613.41 |
| Band B | £1,492.54 | £72.52 | £252.00 | £65.27 | £1,882.33 |
| Band C | £1,705.75 | £82.88 | £288.00 | £74.60 | £2,151.23 |
| Band D | £1,918.97 | £93.24 | £324.00 | £83.92 | £2,420.13 |
| Band E | £2,345.40 | £113.96 | £396.00 | £102.57 | £2,957.93 |
| Band F | £2,771.84 | £134.68 | £468.00 | £121.22 | £3,495.74 |
| Band G | £3,198.27 | £155.40 | £540.00 | £139.87 | £4,033.54 |
| Band H | £3,837.94 | £186.48 | £648.00 | £167.84 | £4,840.26 |
The forecast council tax amounts in the table above are based on consultation proposed amounts and before any council tax discounts that some households can claim.
Penrith residents will again face some of the highest council tax demands in Westmorland and Furness due to the town council precept demands that are higher than both Kendal and Barrow town council precepts despite Kendal town council planning an 8% increase in precepts this year.
Penrith Town Council is planning to not increase its precept this year after external audit found Penrith Town Council is holding excessive amounts of public money in its reserves that are higher than accepted levels.
The External auditors concluded the town council's reserves total £744,785 alongside a further £968,353 in investments.
Council tax data published by the UK Government via the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) showing council tax levels and precepts set by councils in England shows that Penrith Town Council precepts are around 5.4% above the national average among town and parish councils in England.
The town council had agreed in 2024 to look to increase the precept by 3% this year but is not planning to freeze the amounts until next year when they plan to increase by 2%.
The town council is not required to consult on its budget and precept and has no restrictions on the amounts it can set as its precept demand from households in Penrith. With some town councils in other parts of the country setting precepts for a Band D as high as £423.06 charged to residents in Falmouth by the town council.
Westmorland and Furness Council is required to consult on its budget and the council tax charges that fund the councils services. The current consultation is open until the 17th of January 2025 and can be found via https://consult.westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/westmorland-and-furness-council/budget25-26/
Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service Budget and Precept consultation closes on Wednesday 29 January at 5pm and can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QM3XGZY
Cumbria Police Budget and Precept consultation closes on Wednesday 29 January at 5pm and can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JLVZLLB
Westmorland and Furness Council will approve the combined council tax bills that will be sent to households at a meeting in Kendal on the 27th of February 2025.
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