The following is a comment from Councillor Michael Holly, the Council’s Conservative Group’s Spokesperson for Finance.
“The Council will soon set the Council Tax for next year. Last year the ruling Labour Group increased it by 3½% despite an offer by the Government for additional funding if the increase was 2% or less. In my position as the Conservative Spokesperson for Finance, I produced a proposal, which was fully costed, to fund the difference to enable a Council Tax freeze but it was rejected by Labour. Same old Labour - tax and spend your money! The original proposal for next year's Council Tax was yet another increase, this time of 2%, but under pressure from the Conservatives the Labour Group has done a U-turn and now look to be accepting the economic sense of taking the additional grant, worth £1.6m spread over 2 years, which has again been offered by the Government to enable a freeze on Council Tax. Pity they didn't listen to us last year!" “Yet again the Conservatives on Council are doing the best we can, in these still difficult economic times, to put money back into the pockets of hard pressed residents.”