COUNCIL tax is set to be frozen for the sixth year running in Hounslow.
A typical Band D household in the borough will pay just under £1,400 if councillors approve the proposals at the borough council meeting on Tuesday, February 28.
The council’s element of the bill will remain at £1,090.65 for the sixth consecutive year, under the plans, published this week.
However, a reduction in the Greater London Authority (GLA) precept, which covers services like the fire brigade and police, means the total bill will fall by 0.2 per cent to £1,397.37.
Council leaders claim six consecutive council tax freezes is a record for an outer London borough, saving the average household £280 when inflation is taken into account. But residents’ bills will remain the 15th highest in London, based on last year’s figures, should the budget be approved.
Council leader Jagdish Sharma said: “We believe it is wrong to penalise residents with council tax rises in the current economic climate. Households are having to tighten their belts and so is the council.”
For the second year running, the Government has offered councils money in return for freezing or even reducing council tax.
But while no local authorities increased their proportion of the bill last year, several Labour-run councils are reportedly planning to do so this time around.
A reduction in grants from central government means Hounslow Council is aiming to cut spending by £60m over the four years to 2014/15.
Councillors last year approved cuts of £18m and have already agreed savings totalling £11m for the 2012/13 budget, slashing staff numbers and reducing the school uniform grant for poorer families.
A final tranche of savings totalling £4.2m, including cuts to children’s centre opening hours and a reduction in management costs for parks, cemeteries and allotments, will go to the vote next Tuesday.
