Cabinet set to discuss Council Tax for the coming financial year

Cabinet to discuss a 4.99% council tax increase to safeguard services

Camden Council’s Cabinet will meet on Wednesday February 21 to propose the budget for the coming financial year, including the borough’s council tax levels.

The Cabinet report, available here, proposes Cabinet agree a 4.99% increase in council tax for the year 2018/19.

If agreed, that Cabinet recommendation would pass to Full Council for decision on Monday February 26.

Should a 4.99% increase be agreed by Council, it would mean an increase from April of £1.09 a week for a Band D property.

The report outlines that ‘the council continues to operate in a financially challenging environment, with further grant cuts of £10m in 2018/19, taking total like-for-like grant cuts to £118m since 2011/12’.

The council has innovated in order to deal with this situation, delivering £76 million of savings over the last four years, with our Community Investment Programme ensuring that we can still build the homes, schools and community facilities that Camden needs. By redeveloping our property that is expensive to maintain, underused or difficult to access, we are using the proceeds to invest £1billion in Camden by 2025. Just 2% of that total is coming from Government funds.

Cabinet are recommended to increase council tax by 4.99%, made up of 2.99% on the 2017/18 core council tax level following confirmation that funding from government will continue to decrease next year, and an Adult Social Care Precept of 2% to support the Council in its response to the ‘unprecedented demographic and demand pressures facing adult social care’.