Council tax re-billing
Residents will be receiving new council tax bills during this week, following the decision to provide all households in the borough with a council tax payment holiday in April and May 2020.
As a result of the changes no instalments, which includes direct debits, will be taken in April and May 2020. Payments will resume in June 2020 and council tax bills will be payable over 10 instalments to March 2021.
If residents still want to make their payments in line with their previous instalment plan, they can still do this but will need to make a manual payment. This can be done by visiting www.basingstoke.gov.uk/paymyctax or by calling 01256 844844.
As the only council in Hampshire who has offered this support to its residents and therefore is rebilling them, the council has had the opportunity to get important information out to all residents about help available to them during the coronavirus outbreak. This includes information on support for vulnerable residents, financial support for residents, businesses and community groups, advice on fraud and an update on temporary changes to bin collections.
Where residents have signed up for e-billing, council tax bills have been sent electronically and includes a link to this additional information. The additional information can be accessed by clicking the ‘my document’ link on the right hand section of the page and clicking ‘information enclosed with bill’.
If you receive any queries on council tax, please direct residents to our dedicated webpage – www.basingstoke.gov.uk/covid-19-council-tax – or ask them to contact our contact centre on 01256 844844.
Helping those who are not online
We have created a page on our website where important information has been put into an easily printed newsletter and can be shared with people who are not online.
If you know someone who is not online you can help to pass on important information during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We are producing short newsletters with key updates that can be printed off and posted through doors – following the social distancing guidance – or relayed over the phone. Following advice from Public Health England, people are asked to wash their hands before printing the paper and putting it through someone’s door and also to wash their hands after delivering.
The information in these newsletters could be crucial in helping certain individuals to gain access to help and support they may not be aware of. The first newsletter features changes to waste collections and access to help and support.
You can find the newsletters at www.basingstoke.gov.uk/covid-19-information-sharing