BILLS, BILLS, BILLS... TAX IS GOING UP.
Council tax bills will go up by 4.9 per cent after budget vote
ANOTHER bill is going up after councillors voted to raise council tax by the maximum amount – effectively a 5 per cent jump. While the depleted group of Conservatives were still insisting that Camden could set a budget with reduced council tax demands, Labour’s juggernaut power in the Town Hall chamber meant the ruling group’s plans were always going to be agreed. Councillors said the upside of their finance strategy was that Camden was not in any danger of going bankrupt like other local authorities have, and that it would be investing money in support schemes for people struggling under the cost-of-living squeeze. An exemption process where the borough’s 16,000 poorest residents don’t pay council tax at all will continue, while money will be used for food schemes – like breakfast clubs – for children at risk of going hungry.
Finance chief Councillor Richard Olszewski said that if Camden did not raise the council tax by the maximum permitted amount then “we will lack the funding to support vital services”. The vote was taken under rare circumstances which saw the public excluded from the room a decision which borough solicitor Andrew Maughan said was due to a belief that the meeting would be disrupted by Gaza protesters, who lined the streets around the Town Hall on Monday evening (see page 7). Conservative councillor Andrew Parkinson told the meeting that Camden could save money by “reducing inefficient backroom spending – for example by sharing our digital services”. He added: “This is the tenth successive year that Labour has increased its council tax by the maximum permitted and in that time Camden’s share of council tax for a ‘band D’ property has increased by the most of any London borough. Our amendments would give money back to residents at a time when they need it most.” The Conservative group said their amendments would pay for the restoration of weekly refuse collections and drop parking fees for electric vehicles.
But it was a meeting with a deep sense of déjà vu: every year opposition parties come to the council chamber with suggestions knowing they have no chance of winning a vote. Even more so now, as the Tories only have three councillors in the chamber since an electoral meltdown at the 2022 local elections. The official opposition is the Liberal Democrat group – it has five members – and leader Councillor Tom Simon said his party’s past suggestions had often later been adopted by Labour. The examples he gave included planting more trees and rolling out “grit bins”. His group said this year there needed to be more resources for the Routes Off The Street outreach team for those experiencing homelessness, bolder attempts to get more council homes retrofitted and improved music provision for school pupils. “How would we fund all this?,” he said. “By taking the bold step of selling the Crowndale Centre and reprovisioning the library, leaving £15million to invest.” He said further money could be raised from renting out space in the 5PS council offices in King’s Cross. Neither parties’ amendment had any chance of being passed, while the Greens’ could not put one forward as they only have one councillor in the chamber.
Labour says it is a lack of funding from national government which causes the annual council tax rise. During this blame game, backbench Labour councillor Liam Martin Lane went as far as saying they were being forced to implement a “Tory tax rise”. Another of his colleagues, Councillor Camron Aref-Adib, said: “The Tory government has hit down the grants given to local government and over the past few years they have been telling us: Don’t worry about the grants, because we’ll let you increase council tax by more than you normally would. “The people of Camden see through this and they know that this council tax increase is occurring precisely because of central government. “[Chancellor] Jeremy Hunt may not set council tax but he’s given local authorities no other option.” Labour’s chief whip Lloyd Hatton responded to the Lib Dems by saying that the Crowndale Centre in Eversholt Street was part of “the family silver”, adding: “This is not a progressive way to fund a local council.”
Reported by RICHARD OSLEY, Thursday March 7 2024
