"'It will enable the government to allocate more than £250m of funding in the system more fairly, instead of subsidising bills for the half a million households in those council areas. 'It will also provide greater flexibility for those authorities in deciding how to manage their finances following our reforms. The councils will decide on the level of council tax increase to set and whether to draw on the relatively high alternative sources of income from which a number of them benefit.'"
"Normally, there's a nationwide cap on how much councils can raise their taxes, but every so often authorities are given an exception. And this week, the government has given permission to five London local authorities to raise council tax by more than anywhere else in the UK over the next two years. Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Wandsworth, City of London and Hammersmith and Fulham will all be allowed to increase their rates by more than the normal five percent cap in 2026 and 2027."
Five London local authorities received permission to raise council tax above the usual cap in 2026 and 2027. Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Wandsworth, City of London and Hammersmith and Fulham may exceed the five percent limit. These areas have the city's lowest tax rates (Band D households pay £450 and £1,280 less than the England average) and will face funding cuts as resources shift to deprived areas. The exemption is intended to improve fairness and allow more than £250m to be allocated rather than subsidising half a million households' bills. Councils will set increases and may use alternative income; the Institute for Fiscal Studies warns some rises could reach 75 percent. Windsor and Maidenhead also received similar permission.
Read at Time Out London
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]