Jeremy Hunt has just handed councils like Trafford a ticking time bomb to councils with this Budget. This time bomb is set to explode next April when council tax demands arrive.
Commenting on the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Councillor Will Frass, who represents Timperley said: “The Conservatives have lost control of the economy, crashed the pound, and made everyone poorer.”
“To make up for it, the Conservatives are now passing the burden to councils, who in turn are forced to tax local residents in order to balance the books. Just when everyone is struggling with the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, the Tories are making everyone else pay for their mistakes.”
Trafford Council is one of the 20 least funded local authorities in the country. This week’s Autumn Statement comes as Trafford Council is embarking on a lobbying campaign to raise awareness around its lack of central government funding. Trafford has banded together with the other lowest funded councils – forming the F20 Group – to lobby the Government for a fairer funding settlement.
Councillor Shaun Ennis, who represents Timperley Village, said: “The Liberal Democrats fully support the work of the F20 group and Trafford’s role within it. We urgently need central government to step in to rebalance Trafford’s historically unfair levels of funding. To bring Trafford in line with most other councils, we need to see an investment of £5.7 million from central government. It is absolutely vital that all politicians in Trafford are vocal in their support of this. I hope Trafford’s political groups will speak with one voice.”
Cllr Frass added: “A decade ago, the average council got a third of its revenue from local residents through Council Tax and two thirds from central government. In order to fund tax breaks for the richest in society over recent years, the amount from central government has fallen dramatically. Council Tax has risen, but can’t fill the gap. The upshot is: we’re all paying more Council Tax but the total amount in the coffers at the Town Hall is less. I predict the Government will now try to blame local councils for this in the coming months”.