Charges set to rise for pensioner alarms, laundry tokens and lighting in Dudley budget

Dudley Council has frozen rents for tenants for the next year starting on April 6 with the average weekly rent for 23,000 residents remaining at £82.54.

But there will be a rise in charges for people using some of its housing services.

Residents in private homes who use telecare services - such as pendant alarms - will pay £13.10 per month, a rise of 10p.

Users get an alarm service along with GPS tracking watches and pill dispensers.

The council also charges in some properties for items such as furniture. These will rise by 1.2 per cent in line with inflation.

Bosses said 344 homes in sheltered housing schemes were charged for heating and lighting. These costs will also rise by 1.2 per cent.

The charges vary according to the size and scheme of properties.

The council said pensioners had their winter fuel payments to help them cover the costs.

The price of laundry tokens for the use of tenants at five high-rise blocks in the borough will also rise from £2.20 to £2.30 a time.

The increases were discussed at a full meeting of Dudley Council held last night.

Councillor Gaye Partridge, cabinet member for housing and community safety on the council, said: "We try to provide the best value for money and despite these increases these services are still cheaper than would be provided by an outside agency.

"However at the same time that has to be balanced by having the money available to provide the services.

"I think we have been able to strike this balance."

Housing funding is kept separate from the rest of the council's budget, which needs to have £27 million worth of cuts over the coming year and £57 million by 2017/18.

In other areas, Sandwell Council will increase rents by £1.03 to £88.92 a week from April.

In Wolverhampton, council housing rents will go up by more than three per cent.

Councillors say the money will be ploughed back into housing services.

Bosses revealed 300 redundancies had been made at the authority over the last financial year.