Here's what Council Tax in Suffolk could look like after major reform

Major plans for local government reform will change how much Council Tax residents pay — here's what it means.

Suffolk's six county, district and borough councils will cease to exist by May 2028 and be replaced by unitary authorities with more powers.

As part of this process, Council Tax will go through a 'harmonisation' period, meaning it will be brought to the same level for all residents without increasing by more than the 4.99 per cent maximum allowed in a given year.

However, the amount residents end up paying will depend on which unitary model the Government chooses for Suffolk, with two on the table currently — one unitary covering the whole county, or three anchored in Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich.

Despite having to prove harmonisation is affordable, the levels of Council Tax are actually a matter for the new councils to decide, meaning business cases can only estimate rather than promise.

The Three Unitary Model

This model is favoured by the districts and borough councils as a way to keep decision-making as close to local communities as possible, while still delivering the advantages of council reform.

Their business case, due to be formally agreed across all five authorities this week, says Council Tax can be levelled across the new authorities within a year, without increasing by more than between £0.53 and £1.78 per week — that's £27.56 to £92.56 yearly.

How much residents will end up paying will depend on the specific unitary replacing their current council - under the new revised boundaries - as well as the tax baseline at the time of that unitary coming into being, in May 2028.

For instance, if an Eastern unitary authority was set up based on current Band D tax levels, it would need to bring places like Stowmarket, currently in Mid Suffolk, paying roughly £2,114, in line with places in East Suffolk, paying £2,131 — a £17 yearly difference.

The Western authority, on the other hand, would need to bring places like Polstead, currently in Babergh, paying around £2,133, and Elmswell, currently in Mid Suffolk, in line with West Suffolk Council's bill, at £2,143 — a £10 and £29 difference respectively.

Town and parish precepts would be added on top of this.

It becomes slightly trickier in an Ipswich-based unitary, as the current £2,359 bill already includes what would have been the town council precept.

The business case assumes a new town council will be set up, covering the current borough area, to avoid duplication and ensure fairness.

This would mean a roughly £200 reduction on the current Ipswich borough bill, to be added at a later date by the new town council precept, the value of which could still change depending on the duties it ends up taking on.

If this were the case, the annual tax bill in places like Barham, in Mid Suffolk, and Great Blakenham, in Babergh, would need to be brought up by £45 and £26 respectively.

These differences can increase even more depending on how the current councils decide to go about Council Tax over the next two years — for instance, Mid Suffolk decided to freeze tax for the current financial year, while Ipswich increased it by 2.98 per cent.

A joint statement on behalf of the district and borough councils said: “Our role in developing the case for change was to look at modelling options to show that harmonisation was possible within the existing rules for Unitaries and that those harmonisation options wouldn’t undermine the financial case."

The single unitary model

This model is being pushed by Suffolk County Council as the best way to ensure financial stability in the future through significant savings and reinvestment into services.

On Council Tax, the business case, approved for Government submission last week, says the new unitary authority could afford to bring it to the lowest possible value, currently in Mid Suffolk.

This would mean a wholesale reduction for most Suffolk residents of between £17, in East Suffolk, and £245, in Ipswich, based on current levels for Band D homes.

The county council proposals also assume the creation of a town council for the Ipswich borough area, meaning the £245 reduction will be slightly less, although no estimates were made on what its precept would be.

Meanwhile, Mid Suffolk residents would have their Council Tax frozen for the 2028-29 financial year.

Cllr Richard Rout, the county council's lead for the major reform, said it was only fair residents felt the benefits from day one.

What's next?

Both proposals will be submitted to the Government later this week, by the September 26 deadline.

A consultation will then be conducted by the Government, which they expect will end in early 2026, ahead of a final decision later that year.

Elections for a ‘shadow council’ will take place in May 2027, which will exist underneath the current structure until May 2028, when it will take over.