A south London council has announced plans to set the capital’s lowest council tax – as residents in a neighbouring borough face the highest bills.
Wandsworth said it planned to freeze the bulk of its council tax, with only the amount spent on social care increasing – enabling it to reclaim the crown from Westminster council of being the cheapest in London.
By comparison, Kingston – which shares a border with Wandsworth in Roehampton Vale - is again expected to set the highest bills.
Wandsworth, which was won by Labour in the 2022 local elections after decades as a Tory flagship borough, said its council tax demand was likely to be the lowest in the country.
The bulk of its £40 increase in benchmark Band D bills – which will take them to £961 - is due to the £37.26 hike in London mayor Sadiq Khan’s share of the levy.
Ironically, Wandsworth is Mr Khan’s home borough and he used to be a councillor prior to becoming the Labour MP for Tooting.
Across the capital, an average household will pay £471.40 to City Hall from April, primarily to help fund the Metropolitan police.
Wandsworth’s total average bill will be £12 less than the £973 due to be set by Westminster, which was previously the cheapest London borough.
Across the capital, five or six more boroughs are likely to see their average bills break the £2,000 barrier – Brent, Enfield, Haringey, Lewisham, Redbridge and potentially Camden, if it increases its share of bills by the maximum 4.99 per cent permitted.
Eight boroughs already charge in excess of £2,000 at Band D – Bexley, Croydon, Harrow, Havering, Kingston, Richmond, Sutton and Waltham Forest.
Committee papers published by Lib-Dem run Kingston council indicate a total Band D bill of £2,374, up £127 – and £4,748 for the borough’s most expensive Band H properties. Councillors are due to vote on the exact amount next week.
Croydon’s average bills are also expected to increase by £127, taking them to £2,366. The borough, run by Tory executive mayor Jason Perry, was allowed to increase bills by 15 per cent last year because of a financial crisis.
Wandsworth said it was taking “decisive action” to protect residents from the cost of living crisis by freezing the bulk of its share of council tax.
The part of council tax that pays for social care will increase by two per cent. This will help to support residents in care homes or living in their own homes.
Wandsworth said that, despite a real-terms cut in Government funding, it had opened two new libraries, helped families with free school uniforms and created a £15m fund to help residents worst hit by the cost of living crisis.
Its plans over the next decade include building 1,000 new council homes and becoming a “net zero” council.
Council leader Simon Hogg, in a letter to residents said: “We are an ambitious and compassionate council, so our work does not stop here. Through sound financial management, we will lead a decade of renewal for our borough.
“Freezing council tax is one of the key things we can do to deliver a fairer, compassionate and more sustainable borough for everyone.”
Last week Westminster council said it was having to increase its share of bills by five per cent to prevent a growing number of households becoming homeless.
Tenants in private properties have seen their rent soar, while the council has seen a more than 600 per cent increase in the number of asylum seekers applying for help and the end of the Government-supported scheme for Ukrainian refugees.
