ChatterBank7 mins ago
What Is Council Tax For?
66 Answers
Genuine question, I have no idea.
I always thought it was for the upkeep of the roads, taking away our rubbish, the police, etc?
I have just had a conversation with a lad on the bins. I left some black bags outside, because I had SO much rubbish over the weekend, I couldn't fit it all into the one wheelie bin I have. He emptied the bin, but walked straight past the bags and onto the next house.
I went outside in my pj's and asked him if he could take the bags, but he said "sorry darling, I'd love to, but I could get the sack".
I asked why and he said that (and I quote) " it costs them £1100 to empty the truck, and if we get caught taking bags we'll get the sack".
Firstly, £1100??!! Is that each time? Surely not!
Secondly, I thought that's what council tax covered? This is a family household and sometimes, just sometimes, we will have more rubbish than what fits into one single wheelie bin - especially at this time of year.
I explained that they were now soaking wet and that I couldn't take them to the tip myself as they would stink! He had a quick look around, and then threw them all into the back of the truck. Bless him.
He said if I had any in the future, to "leave them behind the wall, not on the pavement because if someone from the council saw them and then saw they had gone, they'd be in trouble".
So, what am I supposed to do if I have more rubbish that what fits in the one wheelie bin I have?
Why can't they take bags? Is it because it costs so much to empty the truck? I thought council tax covered this? If not, what does it cover? I can't remember the last time I saw a road sweeper, or a bobby on the beat. Last time I saw a rozzer was when he gave me a parking ticket last week!
I always thought it was for the upkeep of the roads, taking away our rubbish, the police, etc?
I have just had a conversation with a lad on the bins. I left some black bags outside, because I had SO much rubbish over the weekend, I couldn't fit it all into the one wheelie bin I have. He emptied the bin, but walked straight past the bags and onto the next house.
I went outside in my pj's and asked him if he could take the bags, but he said "sorry darling, I'd love to, but I could get the sack".
I asked why and he said that (and I quote) " it costs them £1100 to empty the truck, and if we get caught taking bags we'll get the sack".
Firstly, £1100??!! Is that each time? Surely not!
Secondly, I thought that's what council tax covered? This is a family household and sometimes, just sometimes, we will have more rubbish than what fits into one single wheelie bin - especially at this time of year.
I explained that they were now soaking wet and that I couldn't take them to the tip myself as they would stink! He had a quick look around, and then threw them all into the back of the truck. Bless him.
He said if I had any in the future, to "leave them behind the wall, not on the pavement because if someone from the council saw them and then saw they had gone, they'd be in trouble".
So, what am I supposed to do if I have more rubbish that what fits in the one wheelie bin I have?
Why can't they take bags? Is it because it costs so much to empty the truck? I thought council tax covered this? If not, what does it cover? I can't remember the last time I saw a road sweeper, or a bobby on the beat. Last time I saw a rozzer was when he gave me a parking ticket last week!
Answers
Rather than give you the lowdown on how my council deals with my rubbish I’ll try to answer your question, “What is council tax for?” In the last financial year my local authority spent £631m. Of this, £268m was spent on children’s and education services, £133m on Housing services and £110m on adult social services. So, about 81% spent on these...
16:04 Thu 20th Dec 2012
I've come to this thread late, so just a few responses from me:
>>>it costs them £1100 to empty the truck
Much of that is made up of Landfill Tax which, quite rightly (if we value our environment), is charged on every lorry load delivered to a tip. (Since the tips are operated by private companies they, of course, will also need to include their own overheads and profits within the charges they levy).
>>>So, what am I supposed to do if I have more rubbish that what fits in the one wheelie bin I have?
Almost all councils (possibly all?) DO allow you to leave additional bin bags out alongside wheelie bins but (because collecting and disposing of them costs more than you've paid for through your Council Tax) they only accept special bin bags, which have to be purchased from council offices or from other outlets supplied by the council. In our area they cost 60p each and can be purchased from the local post office or hardware store (as well as from council offices). The cost of purchasing them goes to help fund the charges levied by landfill sites.
>>>If not, what does it cover?
Your local council will send you a statement of where all of the money goes with your council tax bills. The information is also available online. If you choose not to read it, you can hardly complain!
Further, Council Tax goes nowhere near to paying all of the bills incurred by your local council. They also receive income from Business Rates and (very importantly) from Central Government (i.e. from Income Tax, VAT, etc). It's that part of councils' incomes which has already been significantly cut back and will continue to do so over the next few years, resulting in major cuts to services.
Chris
>>>it costs them £1100 to empty the truck
Much of that is made up of Landfill Tax which, quite rightly (if we value our environment), is charged on every lorry load delivered to a tip. (Since the tips are operated by private companies they, of course, will also need to include their own overheads and profits within the charges they levy).
>>>So, what am I supposed to do if I have more rubbish that what fits in the one wheelie bin I have?
Almost all councils (possibly all?) DO allow you to leave additional bin bags out alongside wheelie bins but (because collecting and disposing of them costs more than you've paid for through your Council Tax) they only accept special bin bags, which have to be purchased from council offices or from other outlets supplied by the council. In our area they cost 60p each and can be purchased from the local post office or hardware store (as well as from council offices). The cost of purchasing them goes to help fund the charges levied by landfill sites.
>>>If not, what does it cover?
Your local council will send you a statement of where all of the money goes with your council tax bills. The information is also available online. If you choose not to read it, you can hardly complain!
Further, Council Tax goes nowhere near to paying all of the bills incurred by your local council. They also receive income from Business Rates and (very importantly) from Central Government (i.e. from Income Tax, VAT, etc). It's that part of councils' incomes which has already been significantly cut back and will continue to do so over the next few years, resulting in major cuts to services.
Chris
I think the councils are out to do as little as possible if they can get away with it,or charge as much as they can for services that they should be performing. I was speaking to my local news agent cum food store,he told me that the council charge him £70 to empty his large waste bin every month. His bin,he tells me, is of waste cardboard boxes. He,like everybody else,pays his rates which cover waste collection. But this council bangs him with a further £70 on top of it. Another case of rip off Britain.
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