It doesn't look great for us this year, financially, with our Council Tax Bill 2022/23 increasing in Hastings by 4.07%, made up of an increase in the Hastings Borough Council of just 1.99%, increased to 4.07% because of the Police, Fire Authority and East Sussex County Council Adult Social Care precepts added to the total council tax.
Council Tax Bills should be sent out to us this week, and all households in Bands A to D will receive a £150 Council Tax Rebate in our bank accounts in May if Council Tax is paid for by Direct Debit; if you don't pay by Direct Debit go to this council website page for further information.
The trouble for many will be that, when increases in the State Pension rate, for example, were declared in October, the inflation rate was at 3.1%, thus pensions will increase by that amount in April (Government website), whereas the inflation rate is quickly rising above the 5.4% it had already increased to by January, and the Bank of England (website) expects it to rise to 7.25% by April!
So, if taking account of the astronomical increases expected in energy costs following ofgem's price cap increase for next year (website) and with world gas and oil prices increasing, notably following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on Russia (yahoo news), food prices and energy costs will go through the roof, and inflation is likely to increase even further!
Of course, the £150 Council Tax Rebate is a Government scheme to help us with increasing energy costs, together with a £200 loan we will be given this Autumn via the energy company we use; this is called a "discount" by the Government (website), but is in fact not a "discount" as we have to pay it back over the next 5 years, presumably added to future energy bills.
So, things do not look so great for us financially, start economising folks!
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