Council plans 4.99% tax hike in bid to close budget gap of £27m

PLANS put forward by Ealing Council bosses could see savings of £11 million and a rise in council tax of nearly 5% in order to deliver a balanced budget.

Details of the proposals for 2021/22 were revealed along with the news that, as of December 2020, the council was facing a budget gap of £27.7million.

Finance cabinet member Bassam Mahfouz and chief finance officer Ross Brown presented the plans to the overview and scrutiny committee on February 4, ahead of the cabinet’s meeting on February 9.

Council officers will recommend the top team approves the plans at the meeting.

Cllr Mahfouz said that consultations carried out with residents on what the budget should look like last year found their priority was to protect vulnerable residents, and that the council has acted on those wishes.

Cllr Mahfouz said: “All the savings we have tabled in the set of proposals come from our Future Ealing proposals, and don’t have an adverse impact on the most vulnerable residents.

“Before the pandemic happened, we were hoping it would be a position that we didn’t have to talk about putting forward savings, that we could talk about even more significant growth that I’d be tabling for the next financial year.

“Sadly, Covid-19 has put a block on that.”

Mr Brown explained that the majority of the £11m savings will be cost avoidance plans, with the bulk – £5.5m – relating to children’s services, while a further £1.5m will be to reduce cost pressures across waste services, by increasing recycling disposal and looking at contract management.

It was also highlighted that income expectations of council tax and business rates will be the biggest saver by raising £10m.

The proposed council tax rise of 4.99% will bring in the majority at £7m.

This means residents living in a Band D property would pay an extra £61.84 a year for the levy.

It was also revealed £22m of investment was to be included in the budget.

The authority’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme, which had seen a “huge surge” in working age claimants, was set to be expanded to give Ealing care leavers exemption from paying council tax until their 25th birthday.

Councillor Gareth Shaw said that a “significant amount” of savings is actually passing the cost directly to residents, and raised concerns at a time of financial hardship whether residents will be too stretched to pay it.

However, Mr Brown said: “We do have lower income collected than previous years, that’s all wrapped up in our collection fund and form part of the budget estimates overall you see today.

“We are hopeful we will continue to collect reasonable amounts of income and proportionate to people who don’t find themselves in the CTR support.”

Among the £22m cash boost, plans included £9m investment for children’s services, £5.1m for road and pathway improvements, as well as £500,000 to replace leisure facility equipment after the pandemic to ensure people stay active and healthy.

The plans were due to be reviewed by cabinet members on February 9, as the newspaper went to press.