Council tax could soar by £500 in infuriating cash grab to plug £8bn black hole

GB News: Expert discusses potential rise in Council Tax

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Families who are already struggling to make ends meet due to rising food, petrol and energy costs will find their pockets are about to be emptied as they will have to find an extra £500 a year. The Local Government Association (LGA) says councils need a 25 percent rise in public funds to pay for social services because of an ageing population – and the money will have to come from somewhere.

An extra £8billon is needed to pay for social care services, as well as child protection, waste and recycling and road maintenance as councils face severe funding pressures.

It could result in Council Tax soaring over the next three years – meaning struggling households will find their finances are squeezed even more as they are asked to find an extra £500 a year, on average, for Council Tax.

LGA chairman James Jamieson said: “Councils continue to face severe funding and demanding pressures that will stretch the local services our communities rely on to the limit.

“Securing the long-term sustainability of local services must therefore be the top priority in the spending review.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his plan for social care last month to ensure elderly people are not hit with huge bills when they retire, but it wasn’t clear where the extra money for social care would come from.

Mr Jamieson said that if the country is to come out of the pandemic with a society that is levelled up, the vital services that councils provide must be at the heart of it.

“Councils need certainty over their medium-term finances, adequate funding to tackle day-to-day pressures and long-term investment in people and transforming places across all parts of the country to turn levelling up from a political slogan to a reality that leads to real change for people’s lives.

“Levelling up has to also mean a radical reset of the relationship between central and local – building back better means building back local.”

Source: Read Full Article