Budgets capped in eight local authorities
Eight local authorities in England have had their budgets capped this year and will have to set lower council taxes, local government minister Phil Woolas has said.
The caps will affect Aylesbury Vale, Daventry, Hambleton, Huntingdonshire, Mid Bedfordshire, North Dorset, Runnymede and South Cambridgeshire.
For Sedgemoor district council, ministers also propose to set a notional budget against which future increases will be measured for capping purposes.
“Given that we have increased funding to local government by 33 per cent in real terms since 1997, and that all authorities have received formula grant increases either in line with or above inflation in all of the last three years, there is no excuse for excessive council tax increases,” Mr Woolas said.
“We will not hesitate to use our capping powers in future years to deal with excessive increases if this proves necessary.”
