Now that's more like it! Hammersmith & Fulham Council is cutting Council Tax bills for its residents by 3% from April, it has been announced today. It's the first cut for more than a decade.Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh (pic) says: "This is the first budget since the May 2006 election and we are combining lower tax with more cash for things that matter to residents. The council is pumping in £1.5million over two years to pay for round the clock beat policing in our town centres as well as spending more on schools and providing free homecare for our most vulnerable residents. We were elected to cut council tax bills and deliver better front line services and this is what our first budget does. While other councils are piling more tax on their residents we are reversing that trend and turning back the clock so that our council tax is now at 2004 levels. That's got to be great news for everyone, particularly for our pensioners and those on low incomes. Delivering on our council tax promises means cutting waste and bureaucracy and looking to the market to see if services can be delivered more efficiently. We are not ideologically wedded to privatisation but surely it is prudent for in house services to be forced to compete with private contractors to see if the same, or even better, services can be delivered more efficiently. It is important that people understand these tax cuts are not at the expense of frontline services. We are cutting council waste, red tape and bureaucracy and, as councils like our neighbours Wandsworth have proved, it is possible to have excellent frontline services and low council tax. Residents should compare our efficiency to the Mayor of London's tax escalator which will once again go up in 2007/8. He is going to hammer taxpayers with an increase of well over 5 per cent as well as clobbering commuters with a 33 per cent hike."
I hope other Conservative councils take note. They should all be beating a path to Hammersmith & Fulham's front door to find out how they have done it. Too often Tory councils throw their hands up and accept that they have to have a year on rise in Council Tax. If Hammersmith & Fulham can cut Council Tax while also maintaining frontline services it ought to be possible for others.
I also notice that Hillingdon Council, which had a Tory landslide in May 06, is giving all elderly households a 2% council tax discount. Not quite as good as H&F but on the right lines.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to hear the words tax cuts . I think we may well hear that next from Gordon Brown. The feeling down Croydonian way is that he will axe inheritance tax , distance hismself on Iraq and go early .Boudary commission and Union tensions mean take the new boy bounce and go for it.
ReplyDeleteWe prepare to spring upon him like TIGERS !! GROOOWWWLL!!!
Every Tory Council would like to deliver tax cuts but it's not that easy. So much depends on the state of the finances when you take control (when I became a Council Leader the Labour budget I inherited was due to overspend income by £4 million), and upon the amount of money that you receive from Central Government. Council Tax actually represents a relatively small proportion of a Council's income (25% in the Authority that I lead) but is the only one that they can control. London Boroughs have the advantage of being relatively poor so they receive decent pay outs from the redistributive Central Government policies. It's harder in most Tory Councils because the government is reducing in real terms the grant that they give. So without cutting services where does the extra money come from?
ReplyDeleteIt's dispiriting when colleagues who haven't been involved in local government assume that cutting taxes is easy and don't understand why it's not - Iain.
That is great news for the residents of Hammersmith & Fulham.
ReplyDeleteBut they have done it the right way, they have been elected and then shown by good management that the tax cuts are affordable without damaging public services.
Promises made before you are even in a position to deliver are always a gamble, and if you fail to deliver in office you damage your credibility for many years!
Hope Gordon Brown does not now start penalising well run conservative councils for reducing their council tax!
You're correct in stating that other councils should be beating a path to H&FBC's door, but might I suggest that a certain party leader might gain from a fact finding tour down that way?
ReplyDeleteIt'd be cheaper than flights to Norway and Darfur and might even demonstrate to his party members that he's interested in things that concern them rather than the illuminati at Broadcasting House.
By the way. A gong for the Tory leader of H&CBC might be a nice gesture too.
Part of this is also down to leadership and a united team - Stephen Greenhalgh and others were absolutely determined to deliver efficiency and value for money - not allowing anything to distract us from this. It was this single minded approach that led to finding the savings in order to cut tax.
ReplyDeleteI am a councillor in H&F and we were all 100% united in that delivering value for money was our highest priority.
It's one thing to lower the council tax, but who introduced the council tax in the first place?
ReplyDeleteAlso, H&F can cut where others can't - H&F has/had one of the highest Tax levels in London so there must be an enormous amount of wasted spending. It's a great start, may it continue!
ReplyDeleteIt also might encourage people in other boroughs to try and get a Tory administration!
Russell,
ReplyDeleteI'm a councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham.
Our Council Tax cut has been achieved despite the pressures you indicate of large inherited debt and central Government grant being switched to other areas.
It's not easy but it can be done. Indeed it must be done if we are to prove our credentials.
The waste and inefficiency in local government is staggering. Council Tax cuts in Tory Councils should be the norm not the exception.
Beat a path to H&F to learn how they did it by all means, but if you want to learn from the masters, the ones who taught H&F what to do when they blazed the trail 20 years ago (and continue to lead), then come to Wandsworth!
ReplyDeleteAn excellent Photo Op there!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Russell. The desire to cut taxes is there with many authorities, but changes to Government funding means it is just not possible - particularly in Shire Counties and Districts. Remember inflation in local Government is running far higher than at National level. On top of that we have to find money to deal wit their burdens, for instance yet more changes to the way elections are run next May.
ReplyDeleteRussell is absolutely right that every Council is different and that it is damn hard to achieve the kind of cut we have done in H&F. Many Conservative Councils have been delivering low taxes for years and they are doing a brilliant job in the face of awful govt granht settlements designed to shift money to the Labour heartlands up north.
ReplyDeleteHammersmith also suffered a mean govt grant settlement this year and it is undergoing massive unfunded population growth.
We are lucky to have Wandsworth and Westminster and Kensington next door who have done great things over the years on tax and who are keen on cost saving partnerships. The healthy competition between us all is great news for taxpayers.
The biggest differences in H&F were not rocket science - early budgeting (we started the process last August), recruitment freezes, zero-based departmental budget reviews and vigorous member challenges.
We simply refused to accept the deal offered to other Councils - namely that officers will cut or freeze in the next election year (2010) if budgets can be increased now.
We are not alone - Kensington & Chelsea and Camden (a coalition with the LibDems) are both freezing their tax and another (I won't name them) new Tory administration in London is working hard to deliver a cut.
Tax cuts are happening at a local level - and Cameron endorsed them last week. Let's all get on with delivering them.
I agree with your general thrust Iain, however in the "shires" we have different problems, and reducing grants. My local county council gets one of teh lowest grants in the land. Central government education spending is something like half what it is in "deprived areas" and on top of that we have the public sector pensions crisis to pay for.
ReplyDeleteThat guy makes Rennard look thin..!!!
ReplyDelete"We are combining lower tax with more cash for things that matter to residents."
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, this is a clear example of a non-sequitur. How is it possible that cuts in taxation allow a local authority to spend more cash?
I'm very wary of those who proclaim massive savings are the result of "cuts in red tape". At some point - and I'm not going to suggest where that point lies - tax cuts can only mean cuts in services.
If Tory councillors on H&F council want to shout about tax cuts, that's fine. But no-one likes a hypocrite, and the proclomation that more money will be spent as a result of tax cuts is just (to be frank) a load of crap.
Love the zero based budgeting!
ReplyDeleteWhat we all need is zero based staffing too. Get rid of the trots and stalinists on the payroll (not applicable at GLA since the Mayor is a Stalinists/thinks he is the second coming of ol Joe).
Congratulations to all the councillors who are doing great things. Now if only the leadership started to learn about this thing called budgeting and tax cuts!
The question now is, with the isolated state of Conservative councillors and Associations, how can we learn from H&F (and even Wandsworth)?
ReplyDeleteI can't see CCHQ rushing to make the best of this.
Not that I want to detract from your success, but Stephen Greenhalgh isn't exactly a looker is he?
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing him on TV. He almost looks like a caricature of a Tory. Scary.
Excellent news from London and a testament to what a dedicated and determined Tory administration can achieve. They deserve plaudits for the brave costcutting decisions they will have had to have made.
ReplyDeleteTheirs should be required reading for all incoming Conservative administrations this May. DC and his cronies should also take a peak and realise that what H&F have done locally can be replicated nationally. Indeed, he should endorse and embrace the Forsythe recommendations in full, as they would doubtless lead to lower national taxes.
Well done to my local Conservative Council! I am proud to represent in Parliament an area where taxes are coming down, and look forward to the same under a future Conservative Government. Hammersmith & Fulham Conservatives are showing the way for the national party - pledge a firm tax cut, increase your vote from 40,000 to 60,000 and start delivering on the pledge in your first budget! Well done to Stephen and his team of young councillors.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the comment:
ReplyDelete"We are combining lower tax with more cash for things that matter to residents."
Alex replied: "In my opinion, this is a clear example of a non-sequitur. How is it possible that cuts in taxation allow a local authority to spend more cash?"
The answer, Alex, is less cash for things that don't matter to residents.
anon 240 "not exactly a looker..." True but look at the sign - a beauty.
ReplyDeleteI know erstwhile leader of Wandsworth who drove the efficiency and good housekeping policy. He said he looked after council funds as diligently as he watched the costs in his own business - every penny counted. Simple really.
Anonymous 2:40. He was elected for his intelligence and steady character, not his looks.
ReplyDeleteTax levels are not the only thing that needs to be reduced by the look of things.
ReplyDeleteAt least the savings weren't reinvested in the council catering budget.
etc etc
Incredibly Socialist South Tyneside Council managed to save £10m.in the first half of the year, without any pain or screaming! Yet, come budget time they'll be asking for a rise. despite me pointing out in Curly's Corner Shop, the blog! the achievement of Hammersmith and Fulham, it is doubtful they will decide to reduce their spending plans. So, we poor tax payers will cough up again.
ReplyDeleteTax really does matter. The May 2006 election result in Bexley demonstrated the anger people feel about council tax rises. Just look at the swing!
ReplyDelete2002
Band D Council Tax: £938.
Conservative Councillors elected: 31.
Labour Councillors elected: 32.
Labour wins control of council.
2006
Council tax £1316 (+40%)
Conservative Councillors: 54 (+74%)
Labour Councillors: 9 (-72%)
Labour loses control of council.
Is there a list of activities that local councils are required to fund by law?
ReplyDeleteI would prefer to support and vote for any party that did these required activities well and efficiently. Any extras, like the "5 a day outreach coordinators" we all love to hate, can solicit sponsorship - some causes I might support through private donation or by referendum.
There is another source of "funding" for local government plans, as well as council tax, rates and central government money: borrowing. I just hope the burghers of H&F aren't being saddled with more municipal debt.
ReplyDeleteThat's it, bye bye Socialist Republic of Harlow, I'm moving!
ReplyDeleteGood for the Hams. But...
ReplyDeleteLondon is absolutely teeming with outsource srvice specialists (be they corporates or ex-council officers who've gone private) who know everything about winning tenders and considerably less about delivering an efficient, value-for-money service.
So, one thing Hammersmith and Fulhan most certainly should not do is cut back on staff who tackle the tendering process.
You may think it's the route to cheaper services, they think it's the route to a quick buck.
This is rearranging the deckchairs as the whole local government ('communities') structure gets the Brussels make-over.
ReplyDeleteOn the boundary commission issue (new mania) the work is due to be done by the end of April 2007 but when do these boundaries kick in for any parliamentary election? Enlightened self interest as I don't want to be even close to being represented by this lying, cheating, bullying, two-faced muppet.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the borrowing question (anonymous of 10.02) isn't there a "third way" often adopted by incoming Tory-Con and Lib-Con administrations? Raiding the reserve piggy bank carefully accumulated over years of prudence by wise Labour custodians of the public good?
And aren't his weasel words about outsourcing code for screwing the workers terms and conditions by evading transfer of undertaking arrangements (cf Post Office Counters, Leeds Lib-Con coalition)?
If, heaven forfend, the Tories did get into government, a Council without good reserves and/or a knack for innovation (cf Manchester) could be well and truly screwed.
What has Stephen Greenhalgh done with the Borough's reserves? Has he taken them down to Gregg's and bought some pies? As I say, I say Fred from Corrie was captured by the ever so reliable Manchester Evening News?
PS Iain - next time the Americans drop some bombs on somewhere do you think you could blog about Willie Rennie MP who took a scalp from Labour rather close to Gordon Brown's fiefdom who is apparently (see my blog and Fib Dems) still a director and shareholder of a PR/lobbying agency which pimps for Raytheon and is also standing up repeatedly in Westminster trying to get their wares e.g. cluster bombs (also patriot missiles and bunker busters) banned?