Pay £20 extra council tax: Labour's County Hall argument (From Worcester News)

Pay £20 extra council tax: Labour's County Hall argument

3:09pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News By Tom Edwards

Councillor Richard Udall, from the Labour group

RESIDENTS in Worcestershire should pay £20 more council tax to help fund better services for pensioners and the young, according to County Hall’s Labour group.

The party will be arguing for a 1.99 per cent council tax rise tomorrow - equivalent to £20.64 a year on an average £1,441 Band D bill.

The rise is the largest any council can impose on taxpayers without holding a referendum first, and Labour says it would raise £2.1 million for the following measures:

- Help extend the pensioners bus pass scheme so it can it can be used before 9.30am

- Use £500,000 to re-instate some bus services which have been axed in recent years

- Spend £1 million on more youth work in the county

The Conservative leadership, which controls the authority, will be backing a freeze when it goes to a vote at a full council meeting tomorrow.

Councillor Richard Udall, from the Labour group, said: “A rise would help the young and the old, and that’s what we’ll be calling for.”

The Liberal Democrat group will also be calling for two cabinet posts to be axed and for some street lights to be dimmed, with both measures saving a combined £174,000.

The group wants to then use the cash to introduce a new, beefed up student travel card which pupils can use during the holiday period, and increase the lowest pay grade at County Hall from £6.47 an hour to £6.84.

The bid will also be debated as part of the 2013/14 budget vote.

Councillor Adrian Hardman, the leader, said: “Cutting two cabinet posts will save around £22,000, I’d hardly call that a big strategic step.”

The meeting is at 10am tomorrow at County Hall and this site will be first with the news.