‘Gordon Brown’s fingerprints’ over another round of council tax rises

Fiddled funding and extra burdens to blame, explains Bob Blackman

 
Local residents face yet another year of soaring council taxes, according to a new survey by town halls. The cross-party Local Government Association (LGA) has predicted that council tax bills across England will soar by 4% from this April, following a snapshot of the draft budgets of a hundred town halls.
 
Bob Blackman, responded that the blame must be put firmly where it belongs – with the extra regulations and burdens on local councils imposed by Whitehall without proper funding. Unfunded burdens the LGA has identified include the rising costs of social care due to an ageing population, extra costs of waste and recycling due to EU and Whitehall directives, the underfunded cost of free bus travel, transferring costs for family court hearings to councils and new 24 hour licensing laws.
 

• In Harrow, council tax bills have already risen by 121% over the last ten years.

• A typical home in England will pay an estimated £1,374 on Band D from April, equivalent to £115 a month. Scotland, on the other hand, will enjoy a tax freeze, with the same Band D home only paying £1,149.

• On average, families across England will have to find an extra £53in tax from April, on top of existing council tax, the rising price of mortgages and rocketing utility bills. If council tax bills were were to rise by 4% in Harrow, this would mean a rise of £57.

The precise rise in Harrow will depend on the individual budget decisions of Harrow Council and the GLA. Already the GLA precept set by the Labour Mayor of London has trebled over the last eight years. The Conservative Administration in Harrow has set a target of 3% increase which is below the rate of inflation and also below the national average. This is despite the worst financial settlement from central Government in living memory. The Government refuse to supply Harrow Council with the funding required to keep services going. Despite this, Harrow Council has been able to make efficiency savings to reduce the increase in council tax.
 
Bob Blackman  said:
“Gordon Brown’s fingerprints are all the doubling of council tax bills under Labour, making it his sneakiest stealth tax. The hikes have been forced up by Whitehall, leaving Harrow’s councillors to take the blame when the ever more weighty bills hit the doormat.
 
“Gordon Brown’s fiddled funding and new duties imposed on local councils will mean more yet more money snatched from people’s pensions and pay packets. Labour’s only plan is to hike taxes yet further – with new bin taxes on the way.”
 
Notes to Editors
 
TOWN HALLS WARN OF COUNCIL TAX RISES
 
A survey by the Local Government Association has forecast that this year council tax bills in England will rise by an average 4% (LGA Press Release, 24 January 2008).
http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=135693