The General Purposes Committee of Brent Council is scheduled to meet on Monday 8 December 2025. The meeting will include a discussion of the calculation of the council tax base for 2026/27, and the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting.

Calculation of Council Tax Base

The committee will consider a report on the calculation of the council tax base for 2026/27. The Local Government Finance Act (LGFA) 1992 requires the council to formally calculate the council tax base and share this information with precepting authorities¹ by 31 January 2026. The tax base must be set between 1 December 2025 and 31 January 2026.

The report recommends that the committee:

• Agrees to the Band D equivalent number of properties as calculated in the report.
• Agrees that the collection rate for council tax for 2026/27 is set at 97.0%.
• Approves a council tax base for 2026/27 of 110,475 Band D equivalent properties after collection rate allowance deduction.

The report notes that council tax is a main source of funding for the council’s revenue budget, representing 41% of the council’s core funding in 2025/26, up from 31% in 2014/15. In 2025/26, the actual council tax yield for Brent was £178.4m.

The report also notes that the council's number of taxable properties has been calculated in accordance with relevant procedures and guidance for 2026/27. The calculation of the tax base has two parts: the number of taxable properties shown as 'Band D equivalents', and the expected collection rate for the year. Properties in each of the eight valuation bands are given different weightings, shown as a proportion of the Band D value.

The report states that the council tax base for 2026/27 could be expressed as:

• The Band D equivalent properties as at 6 October 2025 after adjustments for discounts, premiums, exemptions and council tax support.
• The estimated net growth in Band D properties between 6 October 2025 and 31 March 2026 (as all of these properties will be liable for council tax in 2026/27).
• Half of the estimated net growth in Band D properties during 2026/27 (all of these properties will be liable for council tax in 2026/27 but as they will complete, on average, half-way through the year, only half of their tax raising potential should be taken into account).

As of October 2025, the Band D council tax base was 112,560. The assumption in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2026/27 is for 1.7% growth in the tax base based on this long term trend and the Local Plan targets. The report notes that delivery of housing in Brent was below target in 2023/24, with an expectation that the final data for 2024/25 will show a similar trend.

The report recommends that the long-term collection rate target is held at 97.0%, which is expected to be collected over a period of six years.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The committee will consider the minutes of the previous meeting held on Monday 13 October 2025.