Reigate & Banstead freezes Borough Council Tax and sets a balanced budget for 2026/27

As part of this budget setting, councillors agreed to freeze Reigate & Banstead’s portion of Council Tax.

A balanced budget was achieved primarily by generating efficiency savings and without any cuts to statutory or non-statutory services. Savings are being made, including contractual savings, changes in funding staff posts and ending physical publication of the resident magazine, Borough News. The Council is also making some changes to the fees and charges it collects.

Cllr. Ben Green, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Assets, said:

“I am extremely proud to have set a balanced budget for the year ahead that maintains all the services we provide to residents, including non-statutory services, without increasing our share of Council Tax.

“Although the portion of Council Tax that comes to Reigate & Banstead is relatively small (around ten percent of residents’ total bill - with the remainder going to Surrey County Council and Surrey Police), by taking this step we demonstrate that it is possible to deliver high quality services without continually raising the tax burden on residents.

“I am hopeful that this budget will be a positive legacy that will inspire the new East Surrey Council to pick up where Reigate & Banstead has left off.”

The balanced budget is set at £23.608 million which includes net budget reductions of £1.909 million, and the use of £0.350 million of general reserves to fund a £0.55m shortfall in Housing Benefit payments from central government.

Before finalising the budget, we ran an eight-week public consultation on the draft budget proposals; 74% of residents welcomed our proposal to freeze our share of Council Tax. The detailed comments we received were helpful in preparing the final budget, and we thank all those who took the time to contribute.

Notes to editors

• Reigate & Banstead Borough Council collects Council Tax on behalf of Surrey County Council and Surrey Police. Approximately:
  • 10% of Council Tax collected goes to Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
  • 76% goes to Surrey County Council - including Surrey Fire and Rescue Service
  • 14% goes to Surrey Police
• Full Council meeting reports for 12 February including ink to webcast recording can be found on our website