Local Authorities Council Budgets

Every time I hear the conservative government talking about reducing tax I shout NO because that leads to public services being cut even more.
Last night on tv I heard that 60% of the population do not want tax cuts because they know we will pay for that in lost services.
When the government are asked about this or that service not working they never answer the specific question but tell us how much they are paying to councils who apparently don’t use their piece of that money wisely.
They never actually comment on or actually answer the problem in question.

The answer is to have a GE and get rid of the Tories. They hate any local councils except their own, and favour funding for councils in better off areas to get votes.
Why people voted Tory in previous Labour areas really defeats me- they couldn't see council funds were cut as a result of austerity and there are tight restrictions on what councils can and can't spend money on.
Therefore they blamed councils for cutting services and not central government. Local councils are in a lose/lose situation here.
Now council tax will go up and setvices will go down. CAB is on its knees already. Tories don't want citizens to get advice on anything because once you find out what's going on... keep people in ignorance is classic Tory policy.

The govt is on an easy wicket here. Local govt bears the brunt of govt cuts because the funding tap can be turned off with a flick of the wrist and someone else blamed.
Here is what happens and it is shameful: a service that cost £10m per year in 2010 now costs £15m. Govt grant has increased by £2m. The service is pared down. The public complains. The govt says, ‘We’ll we’ve been putting in an extra £2m every year, up to councils how they allocate their funds. Ask them why they haven’t been putting in the extra £3m all this time.’ Knowing full well that this would have meant heavy cuts elsewhere.
Fifteen years of austerity mean that any genuine ‘efficiency savings’ have long since been made. These are services that we all use such street lighting, road maintenance, rubbish collection, public parks, libraries as well as child protection and care for the elderly.

Cossy

I just heard a snippet on the radio that almost two thirds of all councils will experience severe financial issues and have to cut services in many areas.

One service which will be hit quite badly is The Citizens Advice, a really good service available to all but especially those struggling financially.

My feelings are I’d rather pay more in council tax than lose yet more services. Our local authority is proposing stating fortnightly rubbish collections next April, we are a very large town and this will impact us all.

What’s the solution?

Obviously don't know where you are, but we've been having fortnightly domestic waste collections, after a vote by the towns people, for a couple of years now. Works very well. Rather that than cuts in children's, or social services.

We also have fortnightly bin emptying, the wheelie bins are large and it isn’t a problem, the food caddies are emptied weekly.

We are in Essex and we have a vast amount of terraced houses and flats and our council doesn’t supply wheelie bins. However, we are a large family and I have purchased two wheelies and gave them outside my back door (no room as front garden very very small and we are a mud terrace and no alleyway access)

We need all the services, and we need them to run efficiently. Of course, that is expensive but not everyone can afford to pay more in council tax.

What is most annoying is that high value properties in places like London pay less in council tax than much cheaper properties in other parts of the country - i.e. poorer people are sometimes paying a lot more than rich ones. Some sort of balancing out is needed so that councils can afford to run the services to a good standard.

A review of the local government some years ago was not completed leaving a collection of different authorities so we have large Unitary authorities (both DH and I worked in neighboroughing ones of those), town councils, borough councils, local councils and parish councils. Surely sorting out this confusing array of councils and their varying responsibilites and operational and financial performance is needed.

I live in a Tory borough, which has always been Tory. The funding has also been cut here, and services will be slashed - it’s not just Labour councils.🙁

Countil tax needs a complete revision. It is an absolute rip off and poor value for money for the single and child free.

I agree, I now live on my own but next door there are 4 adults each with a well paid job. I should not be paying the same amount of council tax as they are. I get a 25% discount, big deal.

Councils can scarcely afford to meet their statutory obligations eg social care and support for children so have to cut back on libraries, leisure facilities, support for voluntary services eg advice hubs, lunch clubs, youth clubs etc which all make a huge difference especially in poorer areas.
If this is “ small state” politics I disagree with the policy. Councils need funds from central government to fulfil all their functions, not just statutory ones and bin emptying.
Income tax is surely the fairest way of taxation, not Council tax.

Cabbie21

Councils can scarcely afford to meet their statutory obligations eg social care and support for children so have to cut back on libraries, leisure facilities, support for voluntary services eg advice hubs, lunch clubs, youth clubs etc which all make a huge difference especially in poorer areas.
If this is “ small state” politics I disagree with the policy. Councils need funds from central government to fulfil all their functions, not just statutory ones and bin emptying.
Income tax is surely the fairest way of taxation, not Council tax.

I agree.

Charleygirl5

I agree, I now live on my own but next door there are 4 adults each with a well paid job. I should not be paying the same amount of council tax as they are. I get a 25% discount, big deal.

Charleygirl5

Bit like Thatcher’s Poll Tax? I think something similar to this should be used, but how to sell it to people?

I’m the polar opposite of you, two retirees here, with three adult children, two of whom are working, so really we should pay more than you if you lived door to me. Maybe even give the pensioners a discount if the adult working children pay full wack? Or perhaps a discounted cost to third and fourth adult?

Charleygirl5

I agree, I now live on my own but next door there are 4 adults each with a well paid job. I should not be paying the same amount of council tax as they are. I get a 25% discount, big deal.

That was Margaret Thatcher 's Poll Tax and that went down like a lead balloon.
My Son was a long standing Councillor he first got elected when he was just 23 only lost his seat in last council elections, there was a total change in controlling party.
Since then a council that was one of the best run council, is now struggling mainly though miss management, not through lack of funds, they "inherited" a good balance.
It appears from local oppion polls there will be a swing back.

I agree, I now live on my own but next door there are 4 adults each with a well paid job. I should not be paying the same amount of council tax as they are. I get a 25% discount, big deal

Council tax discount should be 50% to account for two adults living in most houses. Parents should pay something towards what their children consume.

As with the rest of society the unselfish ones who consume the least subsidise the rest. Yet we get nothing equivalent back by way of an allowance.

Mr P was involved in introducing the Poll Tax in our area. It was so unpopular that he likened it to being handed a poisoned chalice every time he had to speak about it. He thought it was a fairer way of providing local services than Council Tax but clearly the public strongly disagreed.

Of course, a poll tax on every adult (excluding those in full time education) would have been a fairer way raise revenue for local services. It should never be a tax on property tax as, for the most part, it isn’t funding services that are anything to do with property.

By far and away the biggest cost to county councils is adult social care, followed by schools and child services.

These are some of the budgeted costs for my county council for 2024/25.

Adult social care, over £2.2 million per day

Schools £1.5 million per day

Children’s services £520,000 per day

Early Years and Child Care £456,000 per day

Home to School Transport £140,000 per day.

I have no objection funding services for vulnerable people or paying taxes to educate the next generation but it’s a cost that should be shared by everyone.

Council tax places an unfair burden on single-person households of which there are some 8.5 million according to the last census, 3.5 million over 65.

Less well off households can claim Council Tax Reduction, which is not widely publicised. It varies from Council to Council, and is not part of the DWP, so some people miss out.. However, that doesn’t solve the problem for councils, only for some households. Debt charities will tell you that one of the most common debts is council tax debt.

I'm not at app surprised if my council is in debt.
They are astonishingly bad at keeping track of, and tending to things they need to, resulting in numerous visits, calls, emails, repeated again and again, to try and get anything done.

Then the same to get them back to do it properly.

The old rates system was an ever bigger scam than council tax because there was no discount for single people. You were directly subsidising families with two or more incomes coming in and four people (or more) using the services. Flat dwellers often paid as much as those in houses even though they had no gardens. I deliberately left a whopping rates bill in every address I ever moved from as a protest.

Nottingham city council has just announced massive cuts in order to cope with a hole of £560 million in their budget. Yes, there was some mismanagement of various things eg their own energy company, and huge payouts to those disadvantaged because of discriminatory policies, for example, but basically there is not enough money to meet their statutory obligations. Cuts in social care and children’s services have been announced, as well as leisure services- libraries, sports arenas, children’s playgrounds and to advice services and the arts.
This is of course happening elsewhere too.
Such a sorry state of affairs.
And yes, I often wish a company or a philanthropist would step up and say “ I will cover the costs of that playground/ library’. But I know it is not the answer.

biglouis

*I agree, I now live on my own but next door there are 4 adults each with a well paid job. I should not be paying the same amount of council tax as they are. I get a 25% discount, big deal*

Council tax discount should be 50% to account for two adults living in most houses. Parents should pay something towards what their children consume.

As with the rest of society the unselfish ones who consume the least subsidise the rest. Yet we get nothing equivalent back by way of an allowance.

Whilst I agree in principle, I don’t think those of us who live as family groups are “selfish”. I don’t think people living on their own are “unselfish”. It’s just different people live in different circumstances. I do agree though that all working adults living in one household should each pay their way!