Council tax bills are in line for a big rise

BUDGET proposals which would add a minimum of £56 on to annual household council tax bills are set to get the nod.

A report to the Lancashire County Council (LCC) cabinet meeting on January 14 recommends a council tax precept rise of 4.99pc - including 3pc towards adult social care.

Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has also opened a consultation into a 7 per cent hike in the police precept.

LCC’s precept for Band A homes in 2020/1 was £933.55pa out of the overall £1,308.14 bill. Residents in higher bands pay a higher rate, and will therefore face a larger increase. Furthermore, the overall bill rise for council tax payers could yet be higher if other authorities, including district councils or the fire service, implement their own increases.

PCC Clive Grunshaw has set out plans to raise the police precept by £15 a year for ‘average’ Band D homes towards funding extra police officers.

In a statement Mr Grunshaw said: “Running Lancashire Constabulary costs over £300m a year, with almost 72 per cent of this coming from Central Government funding, and the remainder being raised by the policing element of your Council Tax bill. My proposal is to invest the majority of the money raised through the precept into neighbourhood policing and I would like to seek your views on this as well as which policing issues are most important to you.

“This has been a challenging year for the country and for Lancashire residents but it has also highlighted the need for properly funded policing in times of crisis.

“Despite having saved over £86m from the police budget since 2010 already, the government leaves Police and Crime Commissioners no choice but to increase the council tax precept to make the investments necessary.

“Not doing so would force further savings that could reduce the level of service we are able to provide across Lancashire.”

The public are invited to give their views at wh1. snapsur ve y s. com/ s. asp?k=161010397007 Paper copies can be requested by contacting Mr Grunshaw’s office by emailing commissioner@ lancashire-pcc.gov.uk or phoning 01772 533587.

The combined proposals would add 4.3pc to the 2020/1 bills - before Rossendale council’s precept charge has even been announced.

The report by LCC’s Chief Executive and Director of Resources states that there is “ongoing and unprecedented uncertainty” in relation to future local government funding, exacerbated by the financial impact of the COVID-19 emergency.

The ‘Money Matters’ report does, however, revise down the county hall’s forecast funding gap for 2023/4 - to £54m from the previous £79m estimate.

In a statement, the council said the council’s finances “remain in a strong position”.

LCC leader County Coun Geoff Driver CBE said: “The pandemic we’ve faced shows just how important it is to be on a solid footing and have the financial resilience to be able to cope with the unexpected.

“Like every other local authority we face continued pressures on our budget, and this is expected to continue, with the pandemic expected to add to ongoing demand in some areas such as children’s social care.”

» ● A final decision on the county hall’s budget is scheduled to be taken by full council on Thursday, February 11.