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Gove to Perry: ‘Mitigate the impact on those least able to pay’

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By STEVEN DOWNES

Mayor Jason Perry’s plans to raise a few bob extra by taking cash out of the purses of old age pensioners and the poorest in the borough got defeated in a Town Hall vote last week.

Today, after being given permission for an inflation-busting 15per cent hike in Council Tax from April, he was told in no uncertain terms that he must find a way of maintaining Council Tax Support for the most vulnerable in the borough.

Perry’s message came from Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, in a written statement to Parliament.

Part of Perry’s “masterplan” was to save less than a “Negrini” – £425,000 a year – by removing the inflation index-linking from the Council Tax benefit paid to those in greatest need.

But in a written statement to parliament today, Gove said, “Following significant failures in their local leadership, governance and financial management, the government received requests from Thurrock, Croydon and Slough for the flexibility to increase their Council Tax by an additional amount, to provide extra funding to support their financial recovery.

“This is on top of the significant additional support government has already granted through the Exceptional Financial Support process. Given the exceptional circumstances of these councils, including unprecedented financial deficits driven by poor decision-making in the past and the need for ongoing government intervention to drive their improvement and recovery, the government has decided not to oppose the requests.”

‘Significant failings’: Michael Gove

This appears to suggest that while Slough and Thurrock requested 10per cent increases, Perry went all Oliver Twist and asked for “More.”

Gove’s statement continued, “In line with their requests, Thurrock and Slough will be able to raise council tax by an additional 5per cent above referendum principles applied to other councils, and Croydon will be able to raise an additional 10per cent.

“The Government is of course conscious of the impact on local taxpayers, particularly those on low incomes, of having to foot part of the bill for their councils’ very significant failings.

“We have been clear to each of the councils that in implementing any additional increases, they should take steps to mitigate the impact on those least able to pay.”

Read more: Perry to preside over record-breaking 15% Council Tax hike
Read more: Council forced to issue 3rd bankruptcy notice in just two years
Read more: Croydon needs deal that could set precedent for all councils
Read more: After nearly a year, Gove is sitting on two ‘improvement’ reports
Read more: ‘We’re not teetering on the brink of bankruptcy’ claims Kerswell


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