Tax rise is ‘on the side of the people’ says Sandwell Council

Members of the authority’s cabinet made the claims as it approved the final draft of its budget which will see an average rise of £52 per year starting in April.

Councillor Wasim Ali, cabinet member for resources and core services, said the council increase was lower than the 4.99 per cent allowed by Government which is being adopted by Dudley, Wolverhampton and Walsall councils.

Adding the authority was still helping those on the lowest incomes, he said: “One of the things I am very proud of is we are still the only council in the Midlands offering a 100 per cent council tax reduction scheme.

“Sandwell’s tax increase is the lowest across all councils in the West Midlands.

“Obviously we will be making tough decisions going forward but we want to show people we are on their side and we understand their pain.”

His remarks came after Councillor Paul Moore disagreed with his own party’s cabinet, and questioned the rise last week saying: “Obviously we all know we are going through a worldwide pandemic at the moment but in terms of the level of service people in Sandwell are receiving, things like litter collection bin collections, repairs, etc, have been disrupted.

“It’s going to be a bitter pill to swallow any increase in council tax given the level of services people are receiving.”

The rise comes as the authority faces a £13.8 million deficit which is having to be plugged by £11 million reserves.

This year the Government has said local authorities can increase their base council tax by two per cent plus an additional 2.99 to pay for adult social care. The increase comes as the authority faces a £13.8 million deficit which is having to be plugged by £11 million reserves.

Council tax is calculated across eight property bands which are set to the value of the home.

Final approval of the budget will be made by all councillors on March 2.