We Stuck to our Pledge to Cut the Council Tax

Council Press Release - Council tax cut is a little extra help for residents in difficult times

Tue, 29 January 2013

Hounslow Council has announced it intends to cut council tax in 2013/14 by half a per cent, following a six-year freeze.
Hounslow is the only outer-London borough to announce a proposed cut in council tax, which Council Leader Jagdish Sharma has said will provide a little extra help to make ends meet for hard-pressed residents.

The borough also proposes to invest over £2 million in services, on top of the extra £2 million invested in 2012/13 in services such as child protection (£250,000) and improving Hounslow town centre.
The investment is balanced by a commitment to save £12.5 million in the next financial year through working more efficiently through new contracts, partnership working and a continued war on waste.
The council has over-delivered on its savings targets by £500,000, which enables the reduction of half a per cent off council tax bills.
For a band D household, the decrease is worth £5.45 a year (£9.17 including  the GLA’s proposed  decrease).
When the council tax freeze over the past six years is taken into account, and inflation is added into the equation, Hounslow residents are over £200 better off.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Jagdish Sharma, said every little extra piece of help would be important for those on low incomes.
He said: "This proposal is a small but welcome boost to individuals and families.
"We have managed to keep our pledge to reduce council tax by working hard to reduce our costs and be more efficient – but we are also protecting front-line services.
"Local government finances remain extremely uncertain but we are the highest performing part of the public sector – I hope that the government gets its own house in order before it takes any more money from efficient local authorities."
The council’s proposals for the coming financial year include savings of £12.5 million alongside investment plans.
Cllr Colin Ellar, the council’s deputy leader, highlighted the fact that while many councils were cutting and reducing, Hounslow was continuing to invest.
He said: "We are already putting investment where it is needed most, in services like child protection and also in securing the future of and improving important local amenities like Hounslow and Brentford Town Centre and Feltham Arenas.
"New contracts like Hounslow Highways will deliver better services and a better borough. Our libraries and leisure centres are safe from the axe.
"But the challenges remain – huge pressures on social housing, the impacts of welfare reform, and keeping our local economy as buoyant as possible."
Hounslow’s 2013/14 budget will be set at the Borough Council meeting on Tuesday 26 February.