London to face second-lowest rise in council tax among UK regions
Cash-strapped Londoners are set for a slight boost as it emerged that the region is set to raise average council tax rates by the second-lowest amount in the UK.
Of the councils who have declared their municipal tariffs for 2022-23, London boroughs collectively came in second from the bottom of the pile, at a 4.4 per cent rise.
However, Croydon Council, which declared bankruptcy for the third time in November, was granted special permission to raise its tax by a “staggering” 15 per cent.
The news follows an outcry after mayor Sadiq Khan announced plans to hike City Hall’s share of bills by almost 10 per cent, adding an additional £38.55 to average bills to fund firefighters and the Met.
Excluding Croydon, the average London bill will rise by £84 (5 per cent) from £1,696 to £1,780. But rates vary wildly by borough, with Kingston charging residents £2,122 versus Westminster’s generous £872.
Average East of England rates are set to rise by 4 per cent, with London and the West Midlands both at 4.4 per cent, and the North West at 4.5 per cent, stats from the County Councils Network revealed.
North East residents will see an average rise of 4.6 per cent, compared to 4.7 per cent in Yorkshire, and 4.8 per cent in both the West and East Midlands and the South East.
Taxpayers in the South West will see the steepest increase of an average of 4.9 per cent.
Some 17 boroughs in London have so far declared their plans, with Barking and Dagenham, Enfield, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Islington, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Newham, and Redbridge all announcing rises of 4.99 per cent.
Brent and Haringey, however, are set to increase bills by 2.99 per cent compared to just 2 per cent in Tower Hamlets and Westminster.
Current government restrictions mean councils can only vote to raise residents’ bills by a maximum of 4.99 per cent – including a 2 per cent social care levy – without carrying out a referendum.
Elliot Keck, from the Taxpayers Alliance, warned: “Surging council tax bills are the last thing hard-pressed households need.
“Councils must crack down on waste before coming cap-in-hand to residents.”
James Jamieson, from the Local Government Association (LGA), said increases would help councils “deal with inflationary cost pressures” but were not a “long-term solution”.
He urged the government to agree to a long-term funding plan for local councils as opposed to repeated one-year cash settlements which “hamper financial planning and sustainability”.
City Hall was contacted for comment.