Council tax doubles under Labour rule

Mar 21 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

TAX PAYERS in the North East have seen their council bills double under 10 years of Labour, The Journal can today reveal, with the region now paying out more than £800m a year.

As council tax payers prepare for another series of increases across many parts of the region, the Conservatives have accused the Government of presiding over steadily rising household costs.

Last night, the Government was accused of fuelling the increase by refusing to provide councils with the funds needed to carry out essential services.

Local councillors have accused the Government of turning a blind eye to the rising cost of looking after an ageing population.

The North East will pay out an estimated £884,304,000 in council tax in the coming financial year.

In the 1997-1998 financial year, the bill was £449m.

The 107% increase comes as small print in the Chancellor’s budget reveals he expects the average band D family in England to pay £1,373 for the year from April – £52 higher than in 2007-08.

Eric Pickles MP, shadow secretary of state for local government, said: “Across the country, council tax has rocketed under 10 years of Gordon Brown in Downing Street, be it his office at No 10 or No 11.

“With record bills to hit the doorsteps this April, local taxpayers will be paying out half a billion pounds more in council tax under Labour.

“This is Labour’s stealthy tax hike – cooked up in Whitehall, but with local councils getting the blame when bills hit the doormat.”

Last night the multi-million pound rise was blamed on tight-fisted Government spending chiefs.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said the Government was expecting councils to do more for less, and had recently made swingeing cuts to council funding.

“The reason that council tax has gone up so much over the last 10 years is that Government funding has failed to keep up with the demands placed on councils.

“In October, the Government announced details of the Comprehensive Spending Review which leaves us with the worst settlement in a decade.

“There are monumental pressures facing local authorities, as many people with elderly relatives will know.

“We have more responsibility for helping families look after elderly relatives but much less money with which to do that.”

Matthew Elliott, of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Council tax has doubled over 10 years but the quality of services has not increased by twice as much.

“People simply can’t afford to pay any more. It is about time politicians realised the problem isn’t that people don’t pay enough tax, it is that money is clearly being wasted.”

The Association of North East Councils has disputed claims that residents are not seeing a rise in standards.

A spokesman from the Association of North East Councils said: “In the 2007 Comprehensive Performance Assessment, the region’s top tier local authorities were confirmed as the best performing for a fourth consecutive year.”

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government denied North councils were being short-changed.

He said: “Since 1997, we have provided a 45% real-term increase in funding to local government and for the next three years every council will receive an increase in core grant.

“This fair and affordable funding means every council has the resources to deliver high quality public services.

“This means there is no need for excessive increases in council tax and we expect the average council tax increase in England to be substantially below 5% next year.”