A Council Tax Freeze

On Wednesday next week, a meeting of the Full Council will consider the budget which has been proposed by the all-party Executive. After we delivered a small council tax cut last year, I am pleased to report that we are again proposing to freeze bills for local households. While the Council is in a well-reported extremely difficult financial situation, with large cuts in government funding and factors such as inflation hitting it hard, times are tough for local residents and it is vital that the Council does not put more pressure on household budgets through the council tax bill. Under the former County Council, local households had to contend with year after year of inflation-busting rises. We're putting a stop to that, and I have pledged to ensure that over my four-year term of office Council tax bills will have gone up by less than inflation, i.e. a real-terms cut.

A number of authorities have announced that they are not freezing tax this year, and local Councils need to decide what is right for their area. Here, at the same time as fighting to protect the services which have been slashed elsewhere such as rural buses and libraries, we are working to keep bills down for all households.

I am grateful to all parties for their involvement in the budget-setting process to date and am hopeful we will deliver the council tax freeze for residents via next week's meeting.