Agenda item

8.08pm – Councillor Max Schmid moved, seconded by Councillor Colin Aherne, the special motion in their names:

“This Council notes that:

·         The Labour administration was elected on a manifesto of reducing the cost of the council to residents.

·         By cutting key fees and charges and being the only council in London to cut council tax last year, the administration is delivering on the promise of reducing the cost of the council to residents.

·         The 2015 Conservative Party national manifesto had no provision to increase council tax and rather claimed that a Conservative Government would “help local authorities keep council tax low for hardworking taxpayers”.

·         Regrettably, George Osborne proposed in the November 2015 Comprehensive Spending Review that instead of properly funding adult social care through national taxation they would recommend that local councils increase council tax through a ‘social care precept’.

·         The Department for Communities and Local Government include the assumption in spending power projections for LBHF that and other councils that authorities apply the precept and increase their council tax every year by 2% during the current parliament.

·         The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2016/17 sees a grant reduction of £8.2m for LBHF. In addition, the Government has imposed £2.885m of new responsibilities on LBHF without providing any corresponding funding .

The Council resolves to:

·         Reject the Government’s recommendation that council tax increases by 2% per year every year.

·         Call on the Government to honour its commitment to “help local authorities keep council tax low” rather than transferring more of the funding burden for social care to local taxpayers.”

Speeches on the special motion were made by Councillors Max Schmid, PJ Murphy, Vivienne Lukey, and Stephen Cowan (for the Administration) and Councillors Greg Smith and Harry Phibbs (for the Opposition).

The motion was then put to the vote:

The motion was declared CARRIED.

8:43pm – RESOLVED

This Council notes that:

·         The Labour administration was elected on a manifesto of reducing the cost of the council to residents.

·         By cutting key fees and charges and being the only council in London to cut council tax last year, the administration is delivering on the promise of reducing the cost of the council to residents.

·         The 2015 Conservative Party national manifesto had no provision to increase council tax and rather claimed that a Conservative Government would “help local authorities keep council tax low for hardworking taxpayers”.

·         Regrettably, George Osborne proposed in the November 2015 Comprehensive Spending Review that instead of properly funding adult social care through national taxation they would recommend that local councils increase council tax through a ‘social care precept’.

·         The Department for Communities and Local Government include the assumption in spending power projections for LBHF that and other councils that authorities apply the precept and increase their council tax every year by 2% during the current parliament.

·         The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2016/17 sees a grant reduction of £8.2m for LBHF. In addition, the Government has imposed £2.885m of new responsibilities on LBHF without providing any corresponding funding .

The Council resolves to:

·         Reject the Government’s recommendation that council tax increases by 2% per year every year.

·         Call on the Government to honour its commitment to “help local authorities keep council tax low” rather than transferring more of the funding burden for social care to local taxpayers.