Council tax charges frozen at current level

Feb 21 2008 By John Rowbotham

SOUTH Lanarkshire’s 140,782 households will pay no additional council tax from April 1.

Charges have, as expected, been frozen at their current level.

The move was agreed unanimously at last Thursday’s South Lanarkshire Council meeting.

It will be welcomed by council tax-payers who have faced rises over the past three years of 2.32 per cent, 3.46 per cent, and 3.5 per cent.

For 2008-09, South Lanarkshire’s 18,120 Band D tax payers will continue to cough up £1101, while the charge for the 36,950 households in Band A remains £734.

With Scottish Water announcing a 3.74 per cent rise in water and sewerage rates, the combined charge in 2008-09 for South Lanarkshire’s Band D homes will be £1480.53.

Band A households will next financial year have to pay £987.02 in council tax and water and sewerage charges.

South Lanarkshire’s 25,890 council house tenants face a 3.5 per cent rents rise.

At the council meeting, councillors approved a budget for 2008-09 of £692m, compared with spending this year of £631m.

The extra spending needed to sustain services is to be met by additional cash from the Scottish Government plus efficiency savings of 2.25 per cent across all departments.

The council received from the Scottish Government £566.1m to help finance the 2008-09 budget.

The total includes the council’s £3.9m share of cash, set aside by Ministers, for local authorities who agree to freeze their council tax charges.

Charges are to rise for leisure facilities, parking season tickets, residential care homes, respite care, day care and day care (adult services).

Council chiefs say an additional £461,000 will be raised from the increases but insist they are charging no more than it costs to run the services.

Unveiling the budget, council leader Eddie McAvoy praised the work of council officers for delivering the £10.3m of efficiency savings.

Councillor McAvoy, who heads a minority administration propped up by the Tories, said the savings had been achieved without impacting on jobs or key programmes such as the schools modernisation.

Following all-party discussions, councillors scrapped proposals to introduce a £1.50 premium rate phoneline for special rubbish up-lifts.

They also decided not to go ahead with plans to rationalise school letting charges.

Councillor McAvoy told the council: “This budget is not about parties, it’s about the people of South Lanarkshire and it puts the people of South Lanarkshire first,” he added.

“We have to make sure we look after our people and the way we, as councillors, have conducted ourselves may be an example to people in other parts of Scotland.”

SNP Leader Archie Buchanan welcomed the additional £3.92m, from the Scottish Government.

Tory Graham Simpson said; “Here in South Lanarkshire, councillors of all parties were able to work together to produce what I think is an excellent deal for the public.”

“It's a lesson from which Labour at national level could learn.”

NEW SCHOOL: St Anne’s Primary pupils have been decanted to nearby St Peter’s while their new £4.5m school is being built in Hall Street, Hamilton.