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Council tax to rise by 6% despite cap threats
The Times - 2 March 2004
By Jill Sherman, Whitehall Editor
COUNCIL tax is still set to increase by at least 6 per cent in England
this year despite concerted government pressure to bring down rises. The
largest increases will be in the South West, where the biggest pensioner
protests have been held.
Figures compiled by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance
and Accountancy (Cipfa), to be published today, show that the average
increase across all household bands is 6.6 per cent, while the average
for Band D is 6 per cent. The figures, three times the level of inflation,
which cover 50 per cent of all authorities, are in line with a survey
conducted by The Times two weeks ago. They also show that nearly 50 per
cent of those surveyed have agreed to increases over 5 per cent.
Average council tax Band D bills in England are set to go
up from £ 1,102 to £ 1,168. However, there are signs that
the Government's warnings that it will cap authorities have led to several
districts submitting revised figures to escape intervention.
Nick Raynsford, the Local Government Minister, has written
to 65 authorities and had meetings with at least 20 town-hall leaders
to try to bring down figures. He has warned them that any above 5 per
cent may be capped.
West Oxfordshire district has revised its proposed figures from 33 per
cent to 5 per cent, while Warwick has brought its increase down from 25
per cent to 8 per cent.
Yesterday Mr Raynsford said that the Government would use
its capping powers to restrain the biggest in- creases as he agreed that
average bills were likely to stay at 6 per cent. He claimed that Labour
councils were showing the most restraint, with an average increase of
4.8 per cent, compared with 5.5 per cent in Tory councils and 6.2 per
cent in Liberal Democrat authorities. "I am encouraged by the evidence
that many councils have listened to our exhortations to lower their council
tax increases.
Six per cent is less than half last year's rise," Mr
Raynsford said. "But there are still authorities whose increases
are significantly above this average. We do have targeted capping powers
and we will use them as necessary. We will not cap for the sake of it."
David Curry, the Tory local government spokesman, said: "After
all the huffing and puffing we have seen from Labour -councils threatened
by letter and in person with capping -we still see council tax increases
of over three times inflation.The Government cannot escape the charge
that it has placed massive burdens on councils and fiddled the funding."
The Cipfa survey, which also gives figures for Wales and Scotland,
covers increases that have now been approved by 101 billing authorities.
These figures include police, fire and parish precepts. The average rise
for Wales was 5 per cent, while the average for Scotland was 4.4 per cent.
But almost 300 authorities have still not submitted their final figures,
with precepts, including many of those who are now in talks with Mr Raynsford.
A separate Cipfa table shows that fire and police authorities have approved
increases of up to 29 per cent, which could still boost the average rise.
Yesterday the Government began a campaign to encourage pensioners
to take up council tax benefit. About 1.7 million pensioners are missing
out on £ 750 million a year because they have failed to claim the
benefit.
© The Times
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