20/02/2006
Council tax 'to rise by 4%'
Council tax in England is set to increase by around 4% this year, a new survey has suggested.
The survey, conducted by the Local Government Association, questioned 112 councils across England and found that 70% had set council tax increases of between 3.1% and 5%.
The April increase will be equal to a £50 increase on a Band D property and will mean that council tax bills have increased from £525 to £1,053 since Labour came to power.
Following the recent British Gas' announcement that gas and electricity prices will increase by 22% this year, pensioners' groups have also expressed concerns about the effect the increase would have on the elderly, as they will not receive the £200 rebate for council tax that they received last year in 2006.
Commenting on the findings, LGA Association Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, said: "Councils are championing the interests of local residents and are doing everything in their power to keep council tax down.
"Although local government is delivering more efficiency savings than any other part of the public sector, this has left very little room for many authorities to manoeuvre between higher council tax and service reductions."
Local government minister Phil Woolas said that he was "moderately pleased" that most councils had managed to keep planned rises under 5%, although he acknowledged that pensioners could find the increases difficult.
Some campaign groups have threatened protests over the increases.
Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have also criticised the increases. Conservative Shadow Secretary for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said: "Higher bills will hit hard-working families and pensioners right in the pocket."
Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat local government spokesperson, described the council tax system as "abysmally unfair". He said: "The whole government finance system is broken, and the only way to fix it is to scrap council tax."
(KMcA)
The survey, conducted by the Local Government Association, questioned 112 councils across England and found that 70% had set council tax increases of between 3.1% and 5%.
The April increase will be equal to a £50 increase on a Band D property and will mean that council tax bills have increased from £525 to £1,053 since Labour came to power.
Following the recent British Gas' announcement that gas and electricity prices will increase by 22% this year, pensioners' groups have also expressed concerns about the effect the increase would have on the elderly, as they will not receive the £200 rebate for council tax that they received last year in 2006.
Commenting on the findings, LGA Association Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, said: "Councils are championing the interests of local residents and are doing everything in their power to keep council tax down.
"Although local government is delivering more efficiency savings than any other part of the public sector, this has left very little room for many authorities to manoeuvre between higher council tax and service reductions."
Local government minister Phil Woolas said that he was "moderately pleased" that most councils had managed to keep planned rises under 5%, although he acknowledged that pensioners could find the increases difficult.
Some campaign groups have threatened protests over the increases.
Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have also criticised the increases. Conservative Shadow Secretary for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said: "Higher bills will hit hard-working families and pensioners right in the pocket."
Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat local government spokesperson, described the council tax system as "abysmally unfair". He said: "The whole government finance system is broken, and the only way to fix it is to scrap council tax."
(KMcA)
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21 February 2005
Tories promise to reduce council tax for pensioners
Conservative leader Michael Howard has pledged to reduce council tax payments for pensioners, if the party win at the next General Election. Mr Howard said that, under a Conservative government, households where all adults are aged 65 and over would have their council tax bills halved, up to a maximum value of £500.
Tories promise to reduce council tax for pensioners
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01 March 2005
Average council tax rise dips to 4%
Average council tax will rise by 4% in England this year, the lowest percentage increase since 1994, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has reported. CIPFA research predicted that council tax bills would rise by an average £45 to £1, 187 for a "band D" property in 2005/06 in England. In Scotland and Wales, rises of 3.
Average council tax rise dips to 4%
Average council tax will rise by 4% in England this year, the lowest percentage increase since 1994, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has reported. CIPFA research predicted that council tax bills would rise by an average £45 to £1, 187 for a "band D" property in 2005/06 in England. In Scotland and Wales, rises of 3.
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