Council tax increase approved for Richmond

At a meeting of the full council on Tuesday night (March 2) a majority of councillors supported the budget for 2021/22, which will see council tax bills go up by 3.6 per cent.

This includes the council’s increase of 0.6 per cent, and an increase of three per cent in the Social Care Precept.

Including the GLA precept, which is set by the Mayor of London and increasing by 9.51 per cent this year, the overall increase in council tax for the year will be 4.65 per cent.

This means that the average Band D property will see a council tax bill of £1,958.66 for the year, up £87.02 on last year.

The lowest Band A property will see an increase in council tax that will equate to an extra £58.01 per year, or £1.12 a week.

Chair of the Finance Committee, councillor Robin Brown, said the pandemic had “turned the world upside down”, leaving more than 12,000 Richmond residents on furlough, with nearly 11,000 claiming Universal Credit.

He said the council recognised the financial pressure on residents, which is why all fees and charges, including parking charges, will be frozen.

The council is forecasting a £5.7m underspend on its revenue budget in 2020/21 excluding COVID-19 related costs – but Cllr Brown stressed this is made up of a number of over and underspends across a wide range of services provided by the council.

Pressures continue in the Dedicated Schools Grant for children with special needs, where there is a predicted in-year deficit of around £3m and an accumulated deficit of £18m by the end of the financial year.

Council tax stock image. Credit: Image provided by Richmond Council

There is also a shortfall in funding from the Government of between £4-5m.

The council is making £2.6m in savings in next year’s budget from procurement and contract savings as well as other efficiencies and income generation schemes.

The council will also be reviewing its office estate in future years as more staff work from home, and will be investing in moving IT services to the Cloud and street lighting technology to reduce costs.

However, an extra £2.4m will be put aside in this year’s budget to reflect increased demand for children’s social care services as well as a £1m Covid-19 Recovery Contingency Fund to respond to any changing needs in the uncertain year ahead.

Conservative councillor Aphra Brandreth, criticised these “generous contingencies” being built into the budget, especially after the projected underspend in the budget.

She proposed allocating £500,000 to help vulnerable children to catch up with schooling and £100,000 for mental health services.

She also said the Conservative group would commit a £2m capital contribution to the repairs of Hammersmith Bridge and £4m to rejuvenate highstreets across the borough.

“This council has the means to reduce the general level of council tax to help young people whose education has suffered, to support those whose mental health has been impacted and to give all our high streets the help they desperately need. This council should not wait to help them,” she said.

However the Conservative amendment failed and the original budget passed with a clear majority.