Sutton proposes freeze to council tax for fifth year running
- Investment in schools, business rate relief, new homes, London Living Wage and the freezing of parking charges also announced
Sutton Council is proposing to freeze council tax for the fifth year in a row and invest in key services despite continued grant cuts by central Government.
At Monday’s Strategy and Resources Committee, the council announced planned investment to support families and businesses including funding for additional school places and business rate relief, the freezing of car park charges, the building of new homes.
The council tax freeze proposal is despite having to cope with a £6.3m cash grant reduction from central Government for 2014/2015 and a further £8.1m in 2015/2016 – a reduction of 18% over two years.
Sutton Council has been able to protect front-line services through the prudent use of resources and by delivering and identifying savings of £31.8m since 2010 through its Sutton Smarter Council programme – which has helped create a more efficient council through innovative measures such as shared services with neighbouring boroughs.
The savings have given the council the opportunity to invest in other areas proposed by the Strategy and Resources Committee.
Measures include the freezing of car parking charges in the borough for a year; support for businesses with £200,000 worth of rate relief; investment of £20m to build new council homes; and setting aside £164,000 so that all direct council employees are paid the London Living Wage as a minimum.
The council will also fund a major upgrade to Cheam Leisure Centre to secure its future for public use. The £3.3m works include replacing the roof and many other improvements including replacing the heating and ventilation systems, windows and water treatment plant.
Through effective lobbying the council has also secured £32m of capital investment for its schools to cater for the growing school age population.
Councillor Simon Wales, Sutton’s Lead Member for Finance, Asset and Voluntary Sector, said:
“We are doing all we can to support people in a difficult economic climate where our Government grant continues to be cut.
“That means having to prioritise our spending wisely and we have chosen to invest in areas that our residents and businesses have told us matter the most – school places, new homes and supporting our local economy.
“I’m delighted that by making innovative changes to how we operate as a council, we have been able to manage the Government cuts while freezing council tax, protecting frontline services and investing in these key areas.”
The proposal will now go to the Full Council meeting on 3rd March, 2014 for debate and approval.