News

Struggling Northamptonshire council is raising council tax by five per cent

The cash-strapped authority was given the greenlight to up bills in the government’s annual local government spending review

uk poverty cost of living crisis

Millions more people are being pushed into poverty because of the cost of living crisis.

Taxpayers in Northamptonshire are facing a five per cent rise on their council tax payments after the government gave the cash-strapped local authority the go ahead in their annual spending review.

Cash-strapped Northamptonshire County Council are the only authority to be offered the extra two per cent headroom without a referendum following a year spent battling bankruptcy that means they have had to cut millions in order to present a solvent budget.

The latest move is expected to generate an extra £5.8m which will plug gaps in children’s services, adult social care and winter road gritting, after reducing the latter service for 497 roads to save £475,000 attracted criticism.

The extra tax exceeds the three per cent cap that other councils are subject to and is expected to cost 70 per cent of taxpayers in Bands A to C an extra 75p to a £1 per month.

The council’s cabinet will meet on February 14 to approve the new £418m budget .

“Of course I do not take any proposal to increase taxes lightly,” said council leader Matthew Golby. “However, given that even after this increase we will remain one of the very lowest taxing counties in the country and given that it will mean we can invest or re-invest in areas people have told us are important, I believe it is the right thing to do.”

Nationally, next year’s local authority funding has been agreed for England while campaigners warn that the government is in denial about the “perilous state of local finances”.

Councils core spending power is set to increase to £46.4 billion for 2019/20 to £45.1 billion and Communities Minister James Brokenshire rubber-stamped the plans on Tuesday following a vote in the House of Commons.

The 2019/20 agreement is the final year of a four-year deal that 97 per cent of councils agreed to access £200bn funding.

Brokenshire said: “This year’s settlement paves the way for a fairer, more self-sufficient and resilient future for local government. That is why local authorities will have more control over the money they raise and a real terms increase in their core spending power.”

However, Westminster’s Public Accounts Committee has warned that local government funding is not adequate to make councils sustainable.

“The government is in denial about the perilous state of local finances. It insists the sector is sustainable yet is unwilling or unable to back up this claim,” said the committee’s chair Meg Hillier. “Flimsy assertions have no place in financial planning. The fact government has bailed out councils with short-term fixes should be evidence enough that all is far from well.

That view has been backed by the Local Government Association. The group’s chair Cllr Richard Watts said: “The spending review will be make or break for vital local services and securing the financial sustainability of councils must be the top priority. If we truly value our local services then we have to be prepared to pay for them.”

Support the Big Issue

For over 30 years, the Big Issue has been committed to ending poverty in the UK. In 2024, our work is needed more than ever. Find out how you can support the Big Issue today.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

View all
I started doing crime by age 6. I didn't know any other life – all my birthdays were in prison
Crime

I started doing crime by age 6. I didn't know any other life – all my birthdays were in prison

Local housing allowance is finally going up. But is it anything more than just a short-term fix?
Jeremy Hunt announced local housing allowance rise
Benefits

Local housing allowance is finally going up. But is it anything more than just a short-term fix?

Calls to nationalise Thames Water as Brits face 40% increase in bills: 'A con and a disgrace'
Water bills

Calls to nationalise Thames Water as Brits face 40% increase in bills: 'A con and a disgrace'

Will free school meals and vouchers be offered over the Easter holidays?
Free school meals/ Easter holidays
Free school meals

Will free school meals and vouchers be offered over the Easter holidays?

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know