Council services cuts warning

Gordon Lundie (Con, Lambourn Valley) said next year’s council tax will either stay the same, which will mean cuts to essential services, or increase by two per cent, with smaller cuts still expected.
The administration’s proposed rate of council tax is expected to be published at the end of January, before being debated and decided in March.
“It will either be zero per cent or two per cent increase,” Mr Lundie (pictured) said.
“If we want to go above two per cent we have to hold a referendum, and we’re not going to do that.
“Even if we go for a two per cent increase there will still have to be a savings programme, because we have a £2.5m loss in funding from the government.
“We will now have to look at those services that people do not want us to cut.”
The council has already decided that residents who were previously exempt from paying council will now pay at least 8.5 per cent of the levy.
All councillors met at the council chamber last Thursday night to decide how much council tax support the local authority would provide in 2013-14, following the announcement that the government’s funding for council tax relief will be reduced by 14 per cent, or £1.13m next year.
Portfolio holder for finance, Alan Law (Streatley, Con) said the council had two options; do nothing and recoup the £1.13m from current council tax payers, or introduce a scheme where everyone pays at least 8.5 per cent council tax.
The council decided to introduce the latter, with an estimated 4,317 residents who were previously exempt from paying council tax now having to pay the levy, including residents on income support and job seekers allowance.
Those with savings of £16,000 or more will no longer be entitled to council tax support, but pensioners, war widowers and war pensioners will be exempt from the levy, as will those that the council has defined as ‘vulnerable’.
The existing 25 per cent discount for single persons will also be retained.
The average household affected by these changes will now pay an extra £2.17 per week, according to Mr Law.
“This is a new poll tax in the making,” said shadow member for finance, David Rendel (Lib Dem, Thatcham Central).
“The people that are being hit are not paying council tax because they are simply too poor. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are out of work; many of these people are in work.
“The charges are so low that not even councillor Law would think they are worth collecting,” Mr Rendel added.
However, Mr Law said the tax would ‘incentivise’ people back to work.
“Almost half the people affected here are not in work, so we’re trying to incentivise these people with the carrot, which is tax incentives, while using the stick, which is what this is.”.
Despite these changes to council tax support, Mr Law conceded that the council will still have a shortfall of £575,775.
Meanwhile Mr Lundie said a ‘hardship fund’, which will provide temporary financial aid to the district’s poorest residents, will be introduced next year.
Meanwhile the council hopes to raise an extra £950,000 after axing a number of council tax exemptions for homeowners.
At a meeting last Thursday, councillors decided that landlords will no longer receive a discount in council tax on second homes.
Further, property owners will no longer receive council tax relief on dwellings that have been empty for more than four weeks - the previous council policy gave tax relief to homeowners whose properties had been empty for up to 26 weeks.
These actions will generate £957,647 in extra income for the council, according to the administration.
Armed forces personal on active service will not be affected by these changes and will retain their current exemptions.