|
Proposals by Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, to freeze council tax for at least two years could generate £15 million for Birmingham City Council, its Leader claimed tonight. Councillor Mike Whitby responded with "great confidence" to plans that ‘any council that makes savings to keep its annual council tax increase to 2.5% or below will receive additional money from central government to reduce council tax bills by a further 2.5%'. Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, in the International Convention Centre (ICC), in Birmingham, Councillor Whitby said: "Any well run council would benefit from this and we are a well run city. We have kept our council tax increase at 1.9% for three years running, which is below inflation and the lowest of the core cities. "We take a practical and pragmatic approach, working within budget and redirecting savings without harming front line services. "We are very proud of our record in terms of value for money and we are always striving for the holy grail - fiscal discipline with social care." An additional grant of 2.5% - based on 1% in council tax equating to around £3m - would generate £15m over two years. |
