Double taxation and the unfair burden on rural parish council areas.

Within the new Westmorland and Furness Council's district a number of parish councils deliver some concurrent services, and their residents pay for these services through the parish council precept.

This at the same time is not uniform across the Westmorland and Furness district area with some town and parish Councils who do not precept their residents for similar services as they are delivered by and funded by Westmorland and Furness council.

This results in parish council residents in areas with concurrent services and assets being subject to double taxation by paying for the services through their parish council precept, while at the same time they contribute to the cost of provision for other Town and Parish Councils through the Westmorland and Furness Council's funding on the Council Tax bill.

In effect Parish Council residents are paying twice for these services.

The double taxation covers many services and assets from Street lighting, public toilets, play areas, through to public spaces and buildings.

An example of this in the former Eden District is 37 parish councils took on responsibility for streetlighting from the former district council under the threat of street lighting provision been lost if not taken on by the parish councils.

However, towns like Penrith the street lighting is fully provided by Westmorland and Furness Council with the town council having no reasonability or costs for streetlighting provision and maintenance.

In the wider Westmorland and Furness Council district streetlighting provision also rests with Westmorland and Furness council indeed Barrow has had significant investment in recent months in new streetlighting via the county council while rural parish councils have to fund additional lighting through the parish precept.

Parish Council residents rightly can't see why they should contribute to services in other Town and Parish Council areas, as well as paying in full via the precept for services in their own community as an extra charge.

In my view it is inequitable if council taxpayers are treated differently for no good reason. Residents in certain areas should not be paying both in full for the service in their locality as well as contributing to its provision else here.

I call on the Westmorland and Furness Council to undertakes a review on double taxation issues across the district and that the review should include

•  Which concurrent functions are in fact being delivered by both the Council and by local councils;

•  How those services are being funded and, hence, whether it is the case that double taxation is occurring;

•  Which areas are subject to double taxation;

•  How that double taxation has come about and whether it is historic or arising now;

•  What scale of funding is involved in cases of double taxation, including for individual local councils.

•  Options for addressing any double taxation issues identified.