EALING'S Council has come under fire for not taking up a government grant to freeze council tax next year.
Conservative councillors attacked the leading Labour group for not using a £3.1million grant to save residents from facing another hike in the annual levy.
Mark Reen, shadow cabinet member for finance, said: "I think at the moment when families are struggling financially - energy bills are inflating, transport and food is going up - it's not right when the council has the opportunity to set zero council tax increase next year."
Although Labour councillors would not confirm their intentions at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (29), council leader Julian Bell said they will make an announcement within the next month.
He said: "We haven't made a decision yet. We're looking at it (the grant), but there are positives and negatives. We haven't made a decision yet because it was only made very recently and its not straightforward. I think we should be in a position to make an announcement before Christmas."
If the council took up the grant, council tax would be frozen for only one year, after which councillors would need to consider increasing it again to maintain year on year savings.
