Council tax proposals just above inflation

11.44.30am GMT Tue 6th Feb 2007

Richmond upon Thames Council has unveiled its Council Tax proposals for 2007/8 and outlined major spending and investment plans over the next three years.

Finance chiefs in York House today set out proposals for a 4.9% increase from April 2007 which is ½% above inflation (RPI). The proposals will be considered by the Strategy and Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee next week and by Cabinet on 26 February, before being voted on by the full Council on 6 March. At the same time the administration has reiterated its commitment to its priority areas of environment, Youth Service and secondary schools by outlining major spending and investment plans over the next three years.

Over £570,000 is to be spent this year refurbishing the boroughs youth centres while a further £250,000 is being pledged per year to provide extra services. This is in addition to a new £1 million Youth Fund which is also being set up in the next 12 months. The Council is also providing £20 million over the next four years to invest in the boroughs secondary and special schools. An additional £750,000 a year is to be spent improving the borough's recycling rates, in particular expanding door step collections to include plastics and cardboard. Crucially this will lead to savings in the future when the borough becomes subject to landfill tax. £2.5 million extra in real terms is being set aside over the next three years for the provision and protection of adult social services.

Commenting on the proposals Cllr Stephen Knight, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Resources on Richmond Council said: "I am pleased to be able to propose a Council Tax increase for this year that is close to inflation. At the same time we have managed to invest strongly in our key priority areas of environment, Youth Service and education while significantly protecting adult social services over the next three years. Balancing the books in Richmond upon Thames is not easy. We are by far the worst funded borough in London. Whereas the recent Government grant settlement provided a 3.0% increase for the average London council - we got just 0.8%. We lobby the Government continuously on this issue but we continue get a very raw deal.

Richmond upon Thames cannot set the lowest Council Tax in London nor do we have access to the big budgets of some other authorities. The average London borough gets over 50% of its revenue from Central Government. With us the figure is less than 19% and that makes a huge difference. I am also very pleased at the recent letter from the Audit Commission which awarded us the highest possible score of four, for value for money. Our challenge is always to provide quality services that provide good value. I am satisfied that we are doing this and will continue to do so with the proposals I have just outlined."

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has proposed a 5.3% increase in his Mayor's precept to be agreed later by the London Assembly. If this is agreed and combined with the proposed Richmond Council figure the overall Council Tax increase for 2007 will rise to 4.98%.