The appeal, in response to a missed bin collection, is understandable, since surveys show that many people struggle when asked to name more than a couple of services that their council provides.
So Borough Life set out to discover where the money paid by a typical local household actually goes.
As almost half of all 137,000 homes in our borough are classed in Band A – the lowest category – we have based the figures on this.
This year the bill for a Band A property, which is typically a terraced house, is £895. People living in larger homes pay more, but the relative amount spent on different services is the same.
Council leader Peter Smith said: “No-one likes paying bills, and council tax is no exception. But when we explain the wide range of services that it does pay for, residents often see it in a different light.
“Not everyone has children, needs social services yet, or uses a library. But taken together we hope people do understand that there’s more to their council tax than a wheelie bin.”
So – apart from emptying 137,000 bins every week – here’s a flavour of what you get for about the price of a pint a day.
- Home helps and other care services to the borough’s older and disabled adults.
- Promoting the economic regeneration of the borough.
- Emergency services from the police and fire brigade.
- Buses and trains across Greater Manchester’s biggest borough.
- The education and care of thousands of children.
- mprovements to the quality of council and private housing.
- Leisure and sports facilities, including parks, libraries, swimming pools and play areas – even cemeteries!
- Employing over 10,000 people including teachers, many from the borough.
- Advice on benefits.
- Protection for businesses and customers through licensing and trading standards.
- Street sweeping, grass cutting and road and pavement maintenance.
- Looking after our countryside and open spaces.
- Street lights.
Chief executive Joyce Redfearn added: “We do as much as we possibly can to make Wigan borough the kind of place where people want to live. We must never forget that it’s public money we’re spending and like any household we have to have priorities. But overall I hope people will feel that the council tax is good value for money even if they don’t personally use all the services we provide.”
What you get for £895
Wigan is the second largest borough in Greater Manchester and has an annual budget of £650 million.
Many people are surprised to learn that the council tax only pays for a quarter of this sum – the rest comes from government grants, business rates, income, fees and charges.
- £245 - Day centres, support for disabled and vulnerable adults such as home helps
- £193* - Schools, teachers, caring for children and youth services
- £147 - Roads and pavements, bins, street lights, recycling, countryside improvements
- £45 - Police
- £76 - Libraries, sports centres, swimming, parks, play areas, cemeteries, ecomomic development
- £68 - Buses and local trains
- £57 - Support services such as legal and financial
- £17 - Fire service
- £28 - CCTV, tackling anti social behaviour
- £19 - Financing major projects, interest charges, debt management
*Please note - this figure doesn’t include the money we get from government grant.
