Islington Lib Dems deliver on pledge to keep council tax below the London average

12.00.00am GMT Fri 28th Feb 2003

Islington Council has agreed to set a council tax of £1049.21 for Band D homes. The full council tonight agreed the plans to increase spending on frontline services while keeping council tax below the London average. The decision means that Islington residents in Band D homes will continue to pay over £100 less council tax than neighbours in Hackney, Haringey and Camden. Residents would have been paying even less were it not for Mayor Ken's whopping 29% rise in the GLA's London-wide precept. Ken's tax directly adds £224.60 to Islington's council tax bill, which means he has doubled his tax in five years. By contrast, Islington council's tax increase is the first in five years. Stripping out Ken's tax and extras paid to London's other levying bodies, the Islington council part of the council tax has increased by less than 1%, or just £2.89, since 1999, and this despite increasingly tough budgetary pressures. Central government gave us a lower than average grant this year, at a time when they have increased National Insurance contributions and public sector pay. We have also inherited a poor financial legacy, like the pension fund deficit of over £80 million - the result of three decades of Labour financial mismanagement. We are committed to getting the council back onto a firm financial footing, and this budget will enable us to do that, as well as increase funding to front line services while keeping council tax below the London average. Despite these pressures, we have made an extra £15 million available for further improving frontline services - the result of the council getting even better at getting best value for money for residents. Commenting on this year's budget, Executive Member for Resources Liberal Democrat Councillor Paul Fox said: "The Council has agreed to the Liberal Democrats' plans to spend more money on frontline services while keeping council tax below the London average. "The government gave us a lower than average grant this year while raising National Insurance, and Ken Livingstone has also doubled his London tax in five years. Yet the Liberal Democrats have worked hard to get better value for money for residents, which has given us an extra £15 million to spend on priority frontline services." &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp