Offering you value for money

The average family spends £136 on their weekly shop*. What you may be surprised to know is that if you are a Band D taxpayer we charge you £2.56 a week for our services**. This is less than most of the individual shopping items in your trolley! Offering you quality services that are value for money is one of our key aims.

You come into contact with our work every day. We provide over 80 services, which are delivered to you over a 24 hour period. We empty your bins, check food hygiene standards, licence taxis, clean your streets, look after the coastline, care for our parks and open spaces, and provide support and reassurance to the vulnerable. Make sure you read our article on page six, which gives you an idea of the range of services we provide to you over 24 hours.

This year, we are freezing our element of your council tax yet again. This means that you will benefit from the lowest council tax in West Sussex.

We collect your council tax, but this is then distributed to a number of public services. Our share amounts to around 9% of the amount you pay each year. This is equivalent to £2.56 per week if you are a Band D taxpayer. Of the 91% remaining, 79% goes to West Sussex County Council, about 9% goes to Sussex Police and roughly 3% goes to parish councils. Each authority makes its own decisions about its council tax increases independently.

Your council tax covers around 64% of our overall costs. The rest is covered by Government grants and chargeable services. We always aim to use resources wisely and make sure that we spend money on services that matter to you. We also work closely with our partners to make sure that you are receiving value for money. We are doing this in a number of ways, from buying together, to sharing services.

Help us to save money

If you pay your council tax or business rates by direct debit, you are helping us to save money. The payment method is simple, secure and helps us to reduce costs.

You can also pay:

• online; or
• by post - by following the instructions on your bill.

For more information on how to pay by direct debit, or other payment methods, please contact us.

*Price taken from Verdict Research report.

**Please note that a small number of services charge. For example, use of our leisure facilities.