Cambridgeshire is planning to increase council tax by 1.99%, which would avoid a local vote by a slither. The coalition has been urging local authorities to freeze the levy again this year, insisting a public vote should be held to approve any increase above 2%.
Consumer Editor Chris Choi reports:
– Ruth Keeling, LGC Chief ReporterAs councils publish draft budgets for next year, our council tax blog is keeping track of their council tax proposals. It already looks as though there will be more councils refusing the freeze funding and increasing council tax next year.
With several weeks to go until budgets must be finalised, we count 26 councils that have confirmed their intentions to increase tax levels.
We expect this number to increase in coming weeks. If we were betting people, we’d estimate around a third of councils will increase tax levels next year – somewhere around 100 councils.
The Local Government Chronicle (LGC) has supplied ITV News with its latest projections for local authorities' approach to council tax in the wake of Eric Pickles' funding attack, supporting predictions that a number look set to defy the Government.
The LGC said budget assumptions and funding proposals allow it to predict the council tax intentions of 74 councils, with the remainder of the 351 English councils still unknown. It said:
Visit the LGC website for a more detailed breakdown of the latest projected figures.
Mr Pickles, meanwhile, has said the Coalition is aware of 115 councils who have confirmed they will opt to freeze.
Asked about Eric Pickles' accusation that English councils are "cheating" the taxpayer with planned rises in council tax, David Cameron's official spokesman said:
The Prime Minister's view is that the Government has provided funding to support a freeze in council tax and it is very good news that around one-third of authorities have already indicated that they will do that. Obviously, the final decision is up to the councils themselves.
The PM's view is that it is right to do whatever is possible, within current constraints, for families. That is why the Government has provided funding for another year of a council tax freeze. If councils want to go further, it is right that that (becomes) a matter for their electorate.
Labour MP for Gateshead, Ian Mearns, has criticised Eric Pickles' accusation that English councils who raise a "stealth tax" by 1.99% in a bid to avoid the Government's 2% referendum threshold are "democracy dodgers".
In his article in The Daily Telegraph, Pickles warned "anybody using loop holes will lose out next year".
After his party colleague Jack Dromey condemned Mr Pickles' claims, Mr Mearns added:
@jackdromeymp @bbcr4today If he never anticipated councils setting Council tax rises at 1.99% Why did he legislate a 2% limit Not a loophole
From @IanMearnsMP on Twitter:Intemperate attack by Eric Pickles on Councils and local democracy. Eric is more a Leninist than a Localist. @bbcr4today
From @JackDromeyMP on Twitter:Eric Pickles has said just under a third of English councils have committed to a national council tax freeze.
"Already we know of 115 (out of 351) can do councils who will freeze council tax for a third year from Derby to Dorset, Northampton to Norfolk and Wolverhampton to Worcester," he said.
The Daily Telegraph said the figure compared with 99% in 2011 and 85% last year.
English councils are "cheating their taxpayers" by increasing local taxes in defiance of a national council tax freeze, Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has said.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Pickles pledged to introduce new laws to force councils looking to increase council tax above a threshold of 2% to put their proposed rises to a referendum.
He said the councils were currently "treating residents with contempt” by avoiding the Government's calls for restraint in local taxation.
Mr Pickles added that "those who put up their stealth tax by 1.99% in a bid to avoid our 2% referendum threshold need a reality check”.
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said councils "have been protected from further spending reductions" over the course of next year.
Local Authorities have been protected from further spending reductions for 2013-14, where the average spending power reduction is just 1.7%.
Government is helping councils grow their local economies through bespoke city deals, over £650 million New Homes Bonus, 24 Enterprise Zones and £770 million in Growing Places Funding.
In addition the Government is offering a £450 million third year's council tax freeze - potentially worth over £200 to Band D residents.
– Department for Communities and Local Government spokesmanHowever, councils still account for a quarter of all public spending - £114 billion - so it is vital they continue to play their part tackling the inherited budget deficit by making all of the 50 sensible savings Ministers recommend, such as better procurement, greater transparency, using reserves more creatively and sharing back offices.
Local authorities have been urged to make more savings under fresh austerity moves, announced by Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles.
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