26 September 2008
Local authorities would not be allowed to break the 5% council tax cap even if a participatory budgeting exercise were to call for this step.
That was the government's response to calls in its consultation on the participatory budgeting national strategy. It attracted 81 answers – 42 from councils.
Respondents asked for powers to exceed the cap if local residents agreed to this, but the Department for Communities and Local Government said 'ministers have made clear that they remain prepared to cap excessive increases', and added that it saw 'no excuse' for them.
The department also rejected the idea that participation would increase if control over business rates were restored to localities. It said that was 'outside the scope of this consultation', and for the same reason rejected the idea of local authority involvement in participatory budgeting for central government spending.
Ministers promised guidance on how to promote involvement in participatory budgeting to address fears that vocal individuals or narrow interest groups would hijack these exercises.
Some respondents said 'participatory budgeting' sounded too technical and called for a more appealing name for the exercise. The department said local branding should be used, such as Newcastle City Council's 'U Decide' title.
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