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Councils keep taxes down by cutting costs
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard26 Feb 2009
Average council tax rises in the capital will be just 1.2 per cent this year - less than half the national figure - it was revealed today.
A survey by London Councils reveals that more than a third of councils are freezing council tax although Hammersmith & Fulham is actually reducing it by three per cent.
The councils say they have managed to control rises by reducing staff. However, there have been fears that services will suffer and economics expert Tony Travers said: "The message the councils are hearing from the Government is one of austerity.
"The reality of that is that they are hunkering down, and while they are minimising the rise in council taxes we will see a reduction in spending and in frontline services."
London Councils said last financial year boroughs had delivered more than £376million efficiency savings.
Chairman of the body and leader of Kensington and Chelsea council Merrick Cockell said: "Sound financial planning has meant that at a time when all of our residents are feeling the pinch we can keep council tax rises as low as possible We will do everything in our power to reduce [the recession's] impact on our residents."
Examples of cost cutting include Hammersmith & Fulham which saved more than £13 million this year by reducing staff numbers and office space.
This week councillors also voted for a pay freeze for senior staff and their own allowances,
In Southwark, the council is to begin relocating staff as part of its attempt to save £35million
About 2,000 council office-workers will move into a new central headquarters in Tooley Street from 30 buildings scattered throughout the south London borough.
The new building is one of the greenest buildings in London, designed to reduce carbon emissions by up to 20 tonnes per year.
Lambeth is saving £10million by restructuring staff and has reduced the wage bill for agency staff from £4million to £1million.
This is the first full survey of council tax levels, although some of them have not yet been formally agreed.
Reader views (5)
They are not really interesed in saving money, if they were they could get rid off, diverity managers, PR and communications departments, and all the other silly nonsense, oh and cut the pensions pot.
If they sacked half of people employed at the council, no one would probably notice any difference.
- P Staker, London, 27/02/2009 08:12
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Andyr.# I was just going to ask the same question.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain, 26/02/2009 18:47
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Poole's increase this year will be 5 (yes FIVE) % and the police are taking 6%. No pay freezes for the town hall staff just sting the residents who are also going to have to fund surfing (in the sea) courses. and we are in a spiralling into a who knows where recession???
- Raymond, Poole, 26/02/2009 16:29
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The table of council tax for each London Borough available in the News Extra print edition (which shows an average increase of 1.62%) does NOT include the UNCHANGED GLA precept of 309.82p. If the GLA precept is added it reduces the average increase to 1.2% reported above
- Donald Smith, Palmers Green, London, 26/02/2009 14:50
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Er, why couldnt they have done this for the last 10 years...? It just shows how wasteful they have been.
- Andyr, St Ives, Cambs, 26/02/2009 13:33
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