Lib Dems warn of future council tax hike as Tories raid reserves to fund short-term pre-election bribe (Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats)

Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats <info@hflibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems warn of future council tax hike as Tories raid reserves to fund short-term pre-election bribe

February 28, 2010 12:29 PM

Local Liberal Democrats have warned of future sharp increases in Council Tax, as Conservative -controlled H&F Council confirmed that this year's 3% cut will be financed not out of revenue but by drawing £2.8 million from reserves.

The Tories have been able to announce Council tax cuts over the last three years as a result of a combination of a larger tax base, increased Government funding which now represents two-thirds of total revenue, savage cuts in services, new charges for the elderly and disabled, and asset sales. As these short-term sources run out, the Tories are increasingly resorting to unrealistic 'efficiency savings', 'self-directed support' and off-balance sheet transactions to justify their Council Tax promises to the electorate, which could cost residents dear.

"With increasing demands on the Council's services, a woeful record on recycling and the environment, potholes in every street, record numbers of empty business premises, and cuts in police numbers just as we face a fresh crime wave, the Tories are turning their backs on residents just when the Council should be providing vision and leadership." said Merlene Emerson, Parliamentary Spokeswoman for Hammersmith.

"Instead we have a Council obsessed with achieving an unsustainable headline tax cut this year at all costs, which is nothing less than a short-term election bribe."

Key points noted by the H&F Lib Dem "Budget Team" include:

Cuts in services totalling £13 million including £2.165 million in Children's Services and £3.6 million in Community Services such as Adult Social Care
Budget risks of £10 million (going up to £25 million in 2013), recognising that some of the so-called efficiency savings may not be achieved as well as the likelihood that the grant from central Government will be reduced in the coming three years
A large scale capital disposal programme, in excess of £10 million over the next 2 years of Council assets (though the report is short on detail as to which specific properties are at stake)
25% of future receipts from decent neighbourhoods programme (including planned sales of £7.435 million of properties such as hostels, street properties and other regeneration sites) is intended to be siphoned off for general capital investment or to subsidise the revenue budget rather than reinvested in creating sustainable communities; and
A pension black hole of over £300 million which has not been addressed by the budget at all.

Even with these unrealistic assumptions, no further Council tax cuts are anticipated for the following 2 years.