Torbay tax raises again

Council levies jump to 4.99%

Torbay households have been warned of ‘devastating consequences’ ahead as the government imposes savage cuts in the amount of money it hands to Torbay Council.

Local people will pay more than expected in Council Tax this year after the government left the bay’s council looking for ways to make ends meet.

The Conservative administration had planned to put the tax up by 4.75 per cent again this year, a fraction less than the maximum 4.99 per cent the government allowed it to.

They said that in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis it was important to take only what it needed.

But the lower-than-expected amount of money allotted to the bay by the government has now left the council with no choice but to up its figure to the full 4.99 per cent. Officers also believe that if Torbay did not ask its Council Tax payers to hand over the maximum allowed, the government would offer it even less support in future years, thinking it didn’t need it.

“We would not be taking a strong grip on the council’s finances if we did not ask for 4.99 per cent,” said the council’s deputy leader Chris Lewis (Con, Preston).

Now council finance experts are warning that the pain is just beginning, with the cash allowances for the coming years looking likely to leave the authority tens of millions of pounds out of pocket.

The bay did badly in the original funding formula put forward by the government last year, but a revised set of figures eased the situation for the coming year. There will be no cuts to services, and the council will be able to set some money aside to deal with future pressures.

But the government’s ‘Core Spending Power’ (CSP) figure, which is crucial to working out how much money councils get, leaves the bay with little or no increase in the following years when it needs tens of millions to keep services going.

National comparisons show that the bay will do notably badly compared to other districts and regions. It will get approximately one sixth of the amount given to other areas with similar levels of deprivation.

Council leader David Thomas (Con, Preston) said: “It is essential that we plan now to minimise the impact of reductions that the council will have to make in future years.”

Measures include creating new reserves to support essential transformation work in areas such as adult social care and a reserve to fund the council’s 10 per cent contribution to the costs of catering for special educational needs and disabilities.

“We are confident that these proposals enable us to take a longer-term strategic approach over the next three to four years,” said Cllr Thomas. “We will continue to make the case to the government for fairer funding for Torbay.”

The budget has been partly overshadowed by the fact that Torbay in its current form could cease to exist in two years’ time as a result of the nationwide local government reorganisation (LGR).

But, said Cllr Thomas, the bay’s wish to stay as it is has not been ruled out, and the budget had been prepared with the future in mind.

“How crass it would be for us to say this is the end of our time in office and we’re just going to let the bay hit the buffers,” he said. “We are here as custodians of our residents’ money for a short period of time, and if the government says our boundaries should stay as they are, it will continue as it is.

“It is very unlikely that there will be any new money for the new unitary councils after LGR, so we have to put the building blocks in place for whatever comes along.”

After the council’s cabinet has discussed the figures, they will go before a full council meeting on February 26.