Cumbria local authorities seek to freeze council tax but police body opts for increase (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Cumbria local authorities seek to freeze council tax but police body opts for increase

2:10pm Wednesday 15th February 2012 in News By Allan Tunningley

A GENERAL council tax freeze looks set to be confirmed for households across South Lakeland and Eden.

Cumbria County Council (CCC) and South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) cabinets have both voted to accept the Government’s ‘freeze grant’, enabling them to hold down the tax for the second year running.

However, Cumbria Police Authority refused to follow suit yesterday, voting not to accept a £1m grant but to raise its tax precept by 3.6 per cent.

On Monday, Eden District Council confirmed its cabinet decision to hold down council tax. CCC will decide today (Thursday) whether to ratify its own cabinet’s decision while SLDC members will vote on the issue next Thursday.

All three councils have warned that accepting the Treasury grant and freezing tax at 2010/2011 levels would mean greater council tax rises might be needed in future years.

CCC predicted the increase could be 3.5 per cent in both 2013/14 and 2014/15. The authority’s budget offers a bleak financial picture, with suggestions that 100 county posts could be axed as the it struggles to reduce its expenditure by more than £10m (from £364.5m in 2011/12 to £353.8m in 2012/13, figures which exclude schools funding). Further savings of £13.9m will have to be saved in 2013/14.

One piece of good news, however, is the authority is proposing to drop controversial plans to charge £25 for residents’ parking permits.

CCC said it had made 621 redundancies in 2011/12 - 554 of them voluntary - and the budget assumes a pay freeze for staff for the second consecutive year.

However, the authority plans to spend £222.6m on the county’s infrasctructure over the next three years. And more than £25m has been set aside for capital spending in schools in 2012/13.

CCC’s deputy leader Stewart Young, the cabinet member responsible for resources, said: "Full council will need to decide whether it is wise for us to accept the Government's council tax freeze grant, given that this will create further pressures and the need to deliver even more savings further down the line. Delivering these savings will continue to be a painful and difficult process.”

A report to SLDC’s cabinet meeting yesterday (Wednesday) said that accepting the freeze grant for 2012/13 would leave the authority having to make up a £200,000 budget shortfall year from 2013/14 onwards, influencing future council tax rises.

Craven District Council said it would lose £85,000 if it accepts the Government’s offer of the council tax ‘freeze grant’ for the coming year. The authority says a tax increase of 2.5 per cent would be needed in 2013/14 to offset the loss.