Hampshire council tax frozen for the fifth year

The council confirmed on Friday that it was proposing to freeze its share of the council tax, keeping it at the same level for the fifth year running.
At £1,037.88 for the average band-D property, it would remain the lowest in the South East, according to the council.
Council leader Roy Perry (Con, Romsey Extra), said that another council tax freeze was likely to lead to reductions in some services.
“While it is inevitable that some services will need to reduce, we will be looking for investments that will deliver similar or better service levels with less money, and unlock further efficiencies,” said Mr Perry.
Despite the government grant being cut by more than 40 per cent since 2010/11 and a tighter squeeze expected beyond 2015/16, the council said it could meet a target of more than £200m savings by 2015, after securing ongoing savings of £130m and reducing its workforce by around 1,700.
A further £93m savings were needed by 2015/16 – equivalent to 12 per cent of the budget – and possible ways of bridging the financial gap included: joining up support functions with police and fire, and reducing office space by about a third.
The council spends around £1m every day on adult care and and this is likely to increase as the number of people over 80 is growing by about 1,000 a year in Hampshire, adding £10m to the bill.
An increase in birth rates, the recession, better systems for recognising signs of abuse and the increased survival rate of children with complex disabilities have added to calls on the £982m children’s services budget.
The council cabinet will make the final budget recommendations on February 7 and the full county council will make the final decision on February 20.