Your views on how West Northants Council spends your money

West Northamptonshire Council spends millions every year on local services for you, your family and community. This short survey from the Labour Group of councillors will let us know what you think about how much the Council charges you in local council tax, and how the Council should spend your money next year. The survey will take you only a few minutes.

This year the Council is spending £432 million on running costs – the revenue budget.
And £203 million is going on big ticket items – the capital budget.
These figures will increase from April 2026.

Some of the money the council spends is borrowed, some comes from central government and some comes directly from you – the local residents – through the council tax. Overall, central Government sets rules about how councils can raise money and how they can spend it.

But there are also choices for West Northants Council to make on how money is raised and how it is spent. And these can make a big difference to you and your quality of life.

What you pay – Council Tax

Council Tax is based on the value of your property compared with others in the area. The Government sets rules for council tax rises. No council is allowed to increase council tax by more than 4.99% next year. That would bring council tax on the average band D home up to £1,960.14 next year. The catch is that if the council sets a lower council tax increase it has to make very big cuts in local services.

So here come the questions. The first ones are about Council Tax.

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* 1. The Council tax you pay is vital to maintain local services. Do you think the Council should make the 4.99% council tax increase allowed by law to protect public services?

Yes

Other (please set out your views)

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* 2. Do you think the Council should make a lower council tax increase AND make bigger cuts in local services?

Yes

Other (please set out your views)

The next section is about day-to-day spending - the revenue budget.

Most of the Council’s spending goes on the following big services:

Education is the Council’s most expensive service. But almost all of the £528 million funding goes direct to schools so it doesn't show up in the Council budget.

£96 million goes direct to the Northamptonshire Children’s Trust to care for children at risk or in need.

Adult services cost £151 million. This goes on caring for pensioners, people with disabilities and others who are vulnerable.

The demand for these services is huge - more than the Council can easily afford. But despite this, there are still choices to be made about how the Council spends your money.

Here are some options for how the Council could spend your money.

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* 3. Would you like to see the Council spend more money on:

	Strongly support	Support	No strong feelings	Against	Strongly against	N/A
Neighbourhood wardens to improve our communities	Neighbourhood wardens to improve our communities Strongly support	Neighbourhood wardens to improve our communities Support	Neighbourhood wardens to improve our communities No strong feelings	Neighbourhood wardens to improve our communities Against	Neighbourhood wardens to improve our communities Strongly against	Neighbourhood wardens to improve our communities N/A
Environmental services to cut fly-tipping and keep streets clean	Environmental services to cut fly-tipping and keep streets clean Strongly support	Environmental services to cut fly-tipping and keep streets clean Support	Environmental services to cut fly-tipping and keep streets clean No strong feelings	Environmental services to cut fly-tipping and keep streets clean Against	Environmental services to cut fly-tipping and keep streets clean Strongly against	Environmental services to cut fly-tipping and keep streets clean N/A
Pothole repairs	Pothole repairs Strongly support	Pothole repairs Support	Pothole repairs No strong feelings	Pothole repairs Against	Pothole repairs Strongly against	Pothole repairs N/A
Services for families - especially mums and tots	Services for families - especially mums and tots Strongly support	Services for families - especially mums and tots Support	Services for families - especially mums and tots No strong feelings	Services for families - especially mums and tots Against	Services for families - especially mums and tots Strongly against	Services for families - especially mums and tots N/A
Youth services to give young people things to do	Youth services to give young people things to do Strongly support	Youth services to give young people things to do Support	Youth services to give young people things to do No strong feelings	Youth services to give young people things to do Against	Youth services to give young people things to do Strongly against	Youth services to give young people things to do N/A
Cheap bus fares for children to get to school	Cheap bus fares for children to get to school Strongly support	Cheap bus fares for children to get to school Support	Cheap bus fares for children to get to school No strong feelings	Cheap bus fares for children to get to school Against	Cheap bus fares for children to get to school Strongly against	Cheap bus fares for children to get to school N/A
Better libraries, museums and art galleries	Better libraries, museums and art galleries Strongly support	Better libraries, museums and art galleries Support	Better libraries, museums and art galleries No strong feelings	Better libraries, museums and art galleries Against	Better libraries, museums and art galleries Strongly against	Better libraries, museums and art galleries N/A
Tackling rough sleep and homelessness	Tackling rough sleep and homelessness Strongly support	Tackling rough sleep and homelessness Support	Tackling rough sleep and homelessness No strong feelings	Tackling rough sleep and homelessness Against	Tackling rough sleep and homelessness Strongly against	Tackling rough sleep and homelessness N/A

Are there any other services you would like to get more funding, especially services for children and families affect by SEND or Adult Social Care services?

This section is about big ticket items – the capital budget

These can take many years to achieve. So think about how you want West Northants to look in five years’ time or even longer.

Below are some questions about this spending.

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* 4. What improvements would you like to see the Council make in West Northants?

	Strongly support	Support	No strong feelings	Against	Strongly against
Improvements to Northampton town centre	Improvements to Northampton town centre Strongly support	Improvements to Northampton town centre Support	Improvements to Northampton town centre No strong feelings	Improvements to Northampton town centre Against	Improvements to Northampton town centre Strongly against
Improvements to Brackley, Daventry or Towcester town centres	Improvements to Brackley, Daventry or Towcester town centres Strongly support	Improvements to Brackley, Daventry or Towcester town centres Support	Improvements to Brackley, Daventry or Towcester town centres No strong feelings	Improvements to Brackley, Daventry or Towcester town centres Against	Improvements to Brackley, Daventry or Towcester town centres Strongly against
A greener environment with improvements to parks, open spaces and our riverfront	A greener environment with improvements to parks, open spaces and our riverfront Strongly support	A greener environment with improvements to parks, open spaces and our riverfront Support	A greener environment with improvements to parks, open spaces and our riverfront No strong feelings	A greener environment with improvements to parks, open spaces and our riverfront Against	A greener environment with improvements to parks, open spaces and our riverfront Strongly against
Stronger flood defences	Stronger flood defences Strongly support	Stronger flood defences Support	Stronger flood defences No strong feelings	Stronger flood defences Against	Stronger flood defences Strongly against
Family hubs – one-stop centres for parents and children	Family hubs – one-stop centres for parents and children Strongly support	Family hubs – one-stop centres for parents and children Support	Family hubs – one-stop centres for parents and children No strong feelings	Family hubs – one-stop centres for parents and children Against	Family hubs – one-stop centres for parents and children Strongly against
Better cycle routes and walking routes	Better cycle routes and walking routes Strongly support	Better cycle routes and walking routes Support	Better cycle routes and walking routes No strong feelings	Better cycle routes and walking routes Against	Better cycle routes and walking routes Strongly against
More to do – better leisure and tourist facilities	More to do – better leisure and tourist facilities Strongly support	More to do – better leisure and tourist facilities Support	More to do – better leisure and tourist facilities No strong feelings	More to do – better leisure and tourist facilities Against	More to do – better leisure and tourist facilities Strongly against

Other (please specify)

Next up - Questions for council tenants

West Northants council has 11,300 council homes. Your rent covers the day-to-day costs of providing your council home That includes basic repairs, administration costs and most servicing costs.

The Government sets rules for rent increases – next year council rents are expected to go up 4.8%. That’s a £5.51p a week rent increase for the average property.

If you live in Northampton, your council home is managed by Northampton Partnership Homes – but the management is due to be taken over by West Northants Council. The Council says that should improve services. What improvement would you most like to see?

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* 5. As West Northants Council takes over from Northampton Partnership Homes, I would most like to see the Council:

	Strongly support	Support	Against	Strongly against	I am not an NPH tenant	N/A
Keep administration and management costs down to a minimum	Keep administration and management costs down to a minimum Strongly support	Keep administration and management costs down to a minimum Support	Keep administration and management costs down to a minimum Against	Keep administration and management costs down to a minimum Strongly against	Keep administration and management costs down to a minimum I am not an NPH tenant	Keep administration and management costs down to a minimum N/A
Improve repairs and maintenance services	Improve repairs and maintenance services Strongly support	Improve repairs and maintenance services Support	Improve repairs and maintenance services Against	Improve repairs and maintenance services Strongly against	Improve repairs and maintenance services I am not an NPH tenant	Improve repairs and maintenance services N/A
Improve management services	Improve management services Strongly support	Improve management services Support	Improve management services Against	Improve management services Strongly against	Improve management services I am not an NPH tenant	Improve management services N/A
Listen and respond faster to tenants	Listen and respond faster to tenants Strongly support	Listen and respond faster to tenants Support	Listen and respond faster to tenants Against	Listen and respond faster to tenants Strongly against	Listen and respond faster to tenants I am not an NPH tenant	Listen and respond faster to tenants N/A

Other (please specify)

And there's also big ticket spending on housing – the capital budget

For more and better housing, the Council raises money from government grants, from borrowing and from council house sales. It uses this to carry out major repairs to council homes, and to build new homes. There’s a huge need to build new homes, as well as to improve existing ones. Big decisions have to be taken on where the money should go.

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* 6. How do you think the Council should spend its money on housing? What do you think is most important?

	Strongly support	Support	No strong feelings	Against	Strongly against
It's most important that existing homes are brought up to standard	It's most important that existing homes are brought up to standard Strongly support	It's most important that existing homes are brought up to standard Support	It's most important that existing homes are brought up to standard No strong feelings	It's most important that existing homes are brought up to standard Against	It's most important that existing homes are brought up to standard Strongly against
It's most important that mould and damp are removed to protect family health	It's most important that mould and damp are removed to protect family health Strongly support	It's most important that mould and damp are removed to protect family health Support	It's most important that mould and damp are removed to protect family health No strong feelings	It's most important that mould and damp are removed to protect family health Against	It's most important that mould and damp are removed to protect family health Strongly against
It's most important that the Council builds more homes	It's most important that the Council builds more homes Strongly support	It's most important that the Council builds more homes Support	It's most important that the Council builds more homes No strong feelings	It's most important that the Council builds more homes Against	It's most important that the Council builds more homes Strongly against

Other (please specify)

Finally - paying for optional extras – fees and charges

There are separate charges for lots of other council services – everything from collecting garden waste, to licensing of mini-cabs, and fines for fly-tipping. Some of these are barely noticed, some cause a lot of public anger. Here are some questions on who should pay for what.

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* 7. How should the Council increase its charges?

	Yes	No	N/A
All charges should be increased in line with the cost of living	All charges should be increased in line with the cost of living Yes	All charges should be increased in line with the cost of living No	All charges should be increased in line with the cost of living N/A
Charges on some items should be increased more than others	Charges on some items should be increased more than others Yes	Charges on some items should be increased more than others No	Charges on some items should be increased more than others N/A
Some people should be exempt from charges	Some people should be exempt from charges Yes	Some people should be exempt from charges No	Some people should be exempt from charges N/A

Please say what your views are about which charges should increase most and who should be exempt

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* 8. People feel especially strongly about some charges. What are your views on increases or changes in the charges set out below?

	Strongly support	Support	No strong feelings	Oppose	Strongly oppose	N/A
£20 increase in charges for collection of green waste	£20 increase in charges for collection of green waste Strongly support	£20 increase in charges for collection of green waste Support	£20 increase in charges for collection of green waste No strong feelings	£20 increase in charges for collection of green waste Oppose	£20 increase in charges for collection of green waste Strongly oppose	£20 increase in charges for collection of green waste N/A
Scrapping free on-street parking in Northampton at weekends	Scrapping free on-street parking in Northampton at weekends Strongly support	Scrapping free on-street parking in Northampton at weekends Support	Scrapping free on-street parking in Northampton at weekends No strong feelings	Scrapping free on-street parking in Northampton at weekends Oppose	Scrapping free on-street parking in Northampton at weekends Strongly oppose	Scrapping free on-street parking in Northampton at weekends N/A
Introducing parking charges in Towcester, Brackley and Daventry	Introducing parking charges in Towcester, Brackley and Daventry Strongly support	Introducing parking charges in Towcester, Brackley and Daventry Support	Introducing parking charges in Towcester, Brackley and Daventry No strong feelings	Introducing parking charges in Towcester, Brackley and Daventry Oppose	Introducing parking charges in Towcester, Brackley and Daventry Strongly oppose	Introducing parking charges in Towcester, Brackley and Daventry N/A

Is there any other charge you feel strongly about?

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* 9. A bit about you .....

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* 10. Postcode

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* 11. Email

Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this survey!

Your answers will help shape our input to the West Northants budget which goes to a full meeting of the Council on 26 February 2026.