Council tax

[Egbert]

For months (if not years) Warrington Borough Council has been warning us of the tough decisions it will have to be taking, of the savings that must be made, etc.

Yet today I hear on the radio that council tax increases next year nationally are expected to be the lowest for years, with some councils not having an increase at all and some actually reducing the council tax.

Will Warrington be able to do this, in view of the plight they say they are in?

Or will we face another big rise?

[Paul Kennedy]

Caroline Spelman has reacted to the news that next spring's council tax hikes are set to take ?120 a month from people's pay packets.

 

This comes as workers face pay freezes or pay cuts, and pensioners suffer from lower income from their savings.

 

A survey of councils has revealed that council tax bills in England are to rise by another ?23 next April, despite inflation being negative. Council tax bills are expected to hit ?1,437 a year on an average Band D home from April, meaning the average bill will be ?120 a month.

 

Council tax bills have more than doubled under Labour. Even a small rise this year is compounded by previous year?s hikes. By contrast, Scotland is benefiting from yet another council tax freeze this year, meaning bills are almost ?300 a year less on a comparative home north of the border.

 

A Conservative Government would work with councils to follow the example of Scotland, providing additional central funding to help councils freeze council tax. Labour Ministers have explicitly refused to adopt such a policy in England.

 

Caroline Spelman, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, said that council tax "is Gordon Brown?s most painful stealth tax". "Under his watch, council tax bills have doubled while frontline services like weekly bin collections have halved", she said.

 

"You pay more and get less under Labour. Only a Conservative Government will work with councils to freeze council tax bills south of the border".

 

 

From which my understanding is that any Councils who can keep their increase to below 2.5% will receive an additional central government grant which will enable them to freeze the countil tax that they charge their residents.