By David Williams
9 February 2011
English councils that have opted not to increase their council tax rates in 2011/12 have been named and praised by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.
A total of 133 local authorities have declared an intention to take the government up on its offer to fund a council tax freeze, according to figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Central government has promised to allocate a grant worth the equivalent of a 2.5% council tax rise to any authority that opts not to increase its levy. The measure, announced in last year’s Comprehensive Spending Review, will cost £650m.
Pickles also announced today that he would impose a cap on any authority planning to raise council tax by more than 3.5%.
He also applauded the ‘can do’ councils that have said they will take part in the freeze, and highlighted authorities that are already finding innovative ways of saving money.
These include a back-office shared services initiative agreement announced today between Westminster City Council and the London boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, expected to save £35m.
The communities secretary also praised collaboration between North Norfolk and West Norfolk, which will yield £400,000.
Pickles said: ‘This shows local authorities can keep taxes down and protect frontline services. Driving down the nation’s deficit is the government’s biggest priority, but we have made sure that extra money is available to protect the public from council tax rises.’
He promised that new localism powers being drafted in Parliament would help councils be as efficient as possible.
Four authorities are planning to cut their council tax in 2011/12. They are: East Staffordshire Borough Council; the London Borough of Hounslow; Ipswich Borough Council; and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead,
The list is based on data collected by the department up to February 2, and is not based on ratified budgets.
