Is there a light at the end of the Council Tax tunnel? asks Isitfair

02/10/2008

The Isitfair campaign has welcomed the statements by the Conservatve Party on freezing Council Tax should they come into office.

Says their campaign leader Christine Melsom: "The Conservatives are the only party to have taken the bull by the horns and addressed the council tax problem during their party conference, and credit must be given for that.  It is to be regretted that neither the Government nor the Lib Dems felt it necessary to throw any crumb of comfort to the hard pressed council taxpayer.

"The announcement that a Conservative government would freeze council tax for at least the first two years of office is a start, but in the meantime they should concentrate on the reform of the present system. 

They brought in this wretched tax, this Government has indecently exploited it, and it would be very good to see the next Government, (who ever it is)put things right as urgently as possible. They must bear in mind:

a. A tax based wholly on property values and with unsustainable increases can never be fair. This tax is now less affordable year on year and hardship is now being felt by a much larger section of the community.

b. Two years of static bills (as in Scotland) would alleviate some of the pain if we knew that there was a crock of gold at the end of the rainbow. However, it could be another eighteen months before the next general election, time enough for any party to be prepared to announce not just a freeze but also a solution. We would like to think that the two year period during which the Conservative Party proposes that CT is frozen, would be used to phase in a new, fairer way to fund local government."

The "freeze" is predicated upon Councils keeping spending down to no more than 2.5% above current levels. The Local Government Association has expressed surprise at the announcement by the Tories, and concerns have been raised about the ability of many councils to make sufficient savings against a background of rising costs - including fuel, salaries and energy. One of the biggest areas of increasing costs is care for the elderly in the community.