Council tax charges and how it is spent

Council tax charges 2023-24 per band by parish

• 72% Devon County Council for education, roads, care for the elderly and disabled, child protection, public health, libraries, recycling centres and waste disposal
• 9% North Devon Council for refuse collection and kerbside recycling, housing, planning, street cleaning, leisure
• 11% Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall for law and order and crime reduction
• 4% Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority for fire prevention, fire and rescue
• 4% town and parish councils for local amenities

The North Devon Council budget for 2023/24 was approved on 22 February with an increase in its council tax share of 2.99 percent, increasing the Band D council tax by £5.93 to £204.28 per year. 

Despite continuing reductions in central government funding over the past few years, the council has managed to balance its budget, with the council's net budget for 2023/24 now £14.7 million, compared to £15.5 million back in 2010. However the real funding reduction the council has had to manage is much larger, as with inflation the 2010 figure would be worth around £20.7 million in today's prices.

Savings over the last few years have come from various initiatives, including:

• not replacing staff when they leave unless essential
• reviewing our accommodation
• reducing funding to some external organisations
• reviewing general supplies
• remodeling the way existing services are delivered

Despite making budget reductions, we don't believe any of our services will be adversely affected and there are no compulsory staff redundancies planned.

The council still faces challenging times ahead due to ongoing government funding reductions and we anticipate having to find further savings or look to generate additional income streams over the next few years in line with our Commercialisation Strategy that Full Council approved in November 2020.