Warwick District Council freezes tax

District councillor Andrew Mobbs, responsible for financial issues, announced at a council meeting last Wednesday that there will be no increase in the tax from April 2011 to 2012, adding: “It’s my intention and the intention of the executive that there will be no increase in the year 2012 to 2013 either.”

Cllr Mobbs (Con, Kenilworth Park Hill) said the freeze was possible as a recent announcement about the Government’s funding to local authorities revealed that the council is expected to have to spend £1.5 million less during the coming year than it had planned for.

He said: “The freeze is our commitment to residents – our shareholders, residents who want value for money.

“This strengthens our position and distances us from other councils in the county who are experiencing severe financial difficulty.”

Cllr Mobbs said the council had already been making savings for the past four years. He said: “Our ongoing successes on not just maintaining, but also improving, services means that I now have confidence that this council can produce a balanced budget for the next two years and we can start to address the long-term needs of this council.”

But he added: “We still have to continue this programme of savings because we are always working now five years ahead. Even though the next two years look very good, we don’t know what’s round the corner and we still have to achieve future savings.”