 Cllr Derek Osbourne has reacted with dismay to the local government finance settlement, announced by the government on 6th December, 2007.
Kingston will receive the lowest possible grant increases for each of the next three years, and could be forced to make unprecedented cuts to council services to reign in tax increases.
Kingston suffers worse
While councils across London are penalised by the settlement, Kingston suffers even worse, with grant increases significantly below the average for outer London boroughs. Kingston’s grant will only increase by 2% in 2008-09, 1.8% in 2009-10 and a measly 1.5% in 2010-11. In comparison, the average increase in England for 2008-09 is 3.6%.
Cllr Osbourne has called for a meeting with government ministers to demand a fairer settlement for Kingston. The borough’s two MPs have already asked to join this delegation
Tough decisions
Cllr Osbourne said:
“This must be the worst finance settlement Kingston has received for a generation. The council is faced with the threat of below inflation grant increases for the next three years, which will make the next three council budgets very difficult indeed.
“We have already contacted the Minister’s office to arrange a meeting to highlight the unfairness of this settlement for a low-spend and highly efficient council like Kingston.
“Here in Kingston we are scrutinising every pound of council spending to get value for money for local taxpayers. We will have to make some very tough decisions in the next three years. But despite these pressures we remain determined to keep council tax increases under control.”
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