Hounslow Council Considers Maximum Council Tax Rise
Increase needed to plug £6.4million budget gap
Hounslow residents could pay nearly five per cent more council tax if plans by borough leaders are approved in a bid to protect vital services.
Details of Hounslow Council’s budget plan for 2021/22 have been revealed. They show how the 4.99 per cent hike in the levy could plug a £6.4 million budget gap. Three per cent is ringfenced to be spent on adult social care.
It means members of a Band D household could pay an extra £63.62 a year.
Hounslow Council leader Steve Curran said the proposal comes during a “perfect storm” of Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic and austerity, and that during a period of uncertainty an increase in council tax income will act as a “buffer” if further decisions on shortfalls need to be made.
He said, “We don’t put council tax up because we can, we put it up because we have to.”
Finance boss cllr Shantanu Rajawat also revealed the council spends around £30 million a year on its council tax support scheme, offering discounts for residents who cannot afford it.
According to the borough bosses 8,893 households have benefited from the support during the pandemic, and further demand for support across a wide range of services is expected after furlough ends.
More than 2,800 local businesses have also received financial help from the council due to Covid-19.
Cllr Curran said, “After furlough, after all the other support schemes come to an end, that’s when we’re really worried…that’s why we’re being very conservative about what we’re spending and how we’re spending it.”
Hounslow borough has suffered one of the highest furlough rates in the country, reporting a 40 per cent furlough or unemployment rate of its working population by the end of summer 2020.
It has also been hit by the decline at Heathrow with 40,000 jobs linked to the airport directly and through its supply chain.
Cllr Curran added, “We are still guarding against the effects of Brexit, especially around Heathrow, and the effect that will have on imports and exports.
“We don’t know what that means yet we know it’s affected the haulage industry, we don’t know what the effects are on aviation yet. That’s a big problem for us…
“The air corridors seem to be chopped and changed every other day…it doesn’t get better at Heathrow, it only gets worse at the moment. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Alongside plans to protect front-line services and meet challenges of the pandemic, the budget proposal also includes investment for the borough’s recovery plan.
Cllr Rajawat said, “As we look to the borough’s recovery, we need to maximise the Hounslow pound, invest in re-swilling and supporting residents back into work and to invest in support for young people through apprenticeships and other work. The need for local government has never been greater.”
The plan will be reviewed by the council’s top team at a cabinet meeting on 9 February, and if passed, will go to full council for approval on 2 March.
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Anahita Hossein-Pour - Local Democracy Reporter
February 1, 2021