Pembrokeshire council among best for value for money, new study reveals

As the cost of living spirals, the council tax rebate scheme was introduced to lift some burden off Brits’ shoulders. However, with it still a significant cost, where in the UK are residents getting the most in return for their council tax?

Intrigued, the experts at money.co.uk analysed a variety of council services across Wales, including fire service response time, recycling levels, road conditions, crime rate, percentage of good or outstanding schools, to reveal in which district council tax goes the furthest.

We really hope you find this release useful. If you do end up using it, we ask that you credit appropriately with a link to the full blog post here: https://www.money.co.uk/savings-accounts/best-return-council-tax-returns.

Welsh districts getting the best return on council tax

Rank	District	Road maintenance score (/10)	Household waste recycling score (/10)	Crime score (/10)	Fire service score (/10)	Education score (/10)	Final value score (/10)
1	Vale of Glamorgan	3.34	9.52	9.48	10.00	3.33	4.21
2	Bridgend	5.24	8.09	8.95	10.00	8.09	4.17
3	Cardiff	7.62	0.00	2.11	10.00	10.00	3.71
4	Monmouthshire	3.81	7.61	10.00	10.00	1.42	3.68
5=	Caerphilly	6.67	0.47	4.74	10.00	6.19	3.66
5=	Rhondda Cynon Taf	7.15	5.23	N/A	10.00	4.76	3.66
6	Newport	4.29	6.66	0.00	10.00	6.66	3.59
7	Pembrokeshire	2.86	10.00	3.16	5.24	4.76	3.46
8	Merthyr Tydfil	9.05	6.19	N/A	10.00	1.90	3.36
9	Swansea	6.20	2.38	5.79	5.24	9.04	3.27
10	Torfaen	8.58	0.95	3.69	10.00	3.80	3.07

For the complete data of all Welsh districts, please click here.

Pembrokeshire ranks seventh in Welsh districts where residents benefit the most from council tax

Receiving a final value score of 3.46/10, waste management (10/10) is the best across Wales, with around 73% of household waste properly recycled. Despite that, road maintenance is below par (2.86/10), and fire services respond aroundone minute longer than South Wales.

South Wales councils are among the best performing

Council tax goes the furthest in Vale of Glamorgan. Receiving a final score of 4.21/10, crime is the second lowest in Wales – only 7% higher than in Monmouthshire. Scoring an almost perfect recycling score (9.52/10), around 70% of household waste is properly recycled.

Bridgend comes in second place with a final score of 4.17/10, the fire brigade response time averages 8.90 minutes – 2.38 minutes shorter than North Wales. 83% of schools are rated as good or outstanding, and a remarkable recycling score of8.09/10 was achieved.

Welsh districts getting the worst return on council tax

Rank	District	Road maintenance score (/10)	Household waste recycling score (/10)	Crime score (/10)	Fire service score (/10)	Education score (/10)	Final value score (/10)
1	Denbighshire	4.77	2.85	0.53	2.39	2.85	1.49
2	Wrexham	0.96	5.71	1.06	2.39	7.61	2.12
3	Blaenau Gwent	9.53	1.90	1.58	10.00	0.95	2.31
4	Gwynedd	1.43	3.33	6.32	2.39	8.57	2.40
5	Carmarthenshire	2.39	4.76	4.22	5.24	4.28	2.42
6	Ceredigion	0.48	8.57	6.85	5.24	0.00	2.45
7	Isle of Anglesey	5.72	3.80	7.37	2.39	2.38	2.55
8	Powys	0.00	4.28	7.90	5.24	5.71	2.65
9=	Conwy	1.91	9.04	2.64	2.39	9.52	2.94
9=	Neath Port Talbot	8.10	7.14	8.43	5.24	0.47	2.94
10	Flintshire	10.00	1.42	5.27	2.39	7.14	3.00

Councils in North Wales are among the worst performing

Money.co.uk can reveal that Denbighshire is Wales’ worst performing council, receiving a value score of 1.49/10. Crime levels are the second highest across the country – only 5.9% lower than in Newport. The average fire service response time (11.28 minutes) also takes 2.38 minutes longer than in South Wales.

James Andrews, finance expert at money.co.uk, offered guidance on how to check you’re not overpaying your council tax and tips on how to get a reduction:

With council tax bills rising by around 3% in April last month, it might come as good news for many that 46.1% of tax challenges made last year succeeded in reducing their band. As property valuations were roughly done back in 1991, it’s possible that your house was misvalued. Here’s how to check if you are eligible for a tax reduction:

1. Check with your neighbours – Compare your council tax band with neighbouring properties of a similar size and style. If your house landed in a higher band, you may have good grounds for appeal. Relevant information could also be obtained online: England (Valuation Office Agency), Scotland (Scottish Assessors’ Association)
2. Carry out a 1991 valuation check – To find out the value of your house in 1991, enter your property price at the last valuation into a house price valuation tool such as Nationwide‘s. Next,  compare this with the tax bands introduced in 1991. If you find yourself in a higher band than you should be, you could request to appeal it
3. See if you are eligible for a council tax discount – If you live alone for instance, or you’re the only adult in the household living with under-18s, you can get 25% off your council tax bills; If you are a full-time student taking a one-year long course, or dedicate 21 hours of studying per week, you are exempt from paying. Check your local council’s site to see who else is entitled to discounts

*If you think you’re paying too much council tax, you can make a challenge. But bear in mind this is a reassessment process that doesn’t automatically reduce your council tax.