Adult Social Care precept 2025/26
The government has allowed councils which provide social care to adults to increase their share of council tax. The additional council tax charge is called the Adult Social Care precept. The income generated from this charge can only be used for adult social care services.
Slough Borough Council members agreed at Council on 6 March 2025 that the Adult Social Care precept for 2025/26 would increase by 2%.
This increase is combined with the main 2.99% increase, to give a total increase for Slough Borough Council of 4.99%.
As part of the process of setting our budget the chief finance officer (s151) is required to confirm in writing to central government that we will use the ‘Adult Social Care precept’ and this will be spent on Adult Social Care functions.
Statement concerning adult social care funding
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has made an offer to adult social care authorities. “Adult social care authorities” are local authorities which have functions under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, namely county councils in England, district councils for an area in England for which there is no county council, London borough councils, the Common Council of the City of London and the Council of the Isles of Scilly.
The offer is the option of an adult social care authority being able to charge a “precept” on its council tax for the financial year beginning in 2016 without holding a referendum, to assist the authority in meeting expenditure on adult social care.
For the financial year beginning in April 2025, Government has confirmed in the Final Local Government Settlement a referendum principle of up to 5%, for adult social care authorities. These authorities, which include Slough Borough Council, may therefore set council tax up to this percentage in 2025 without holding a referendum.