Thurrock Council’s Cabinet say the increase in council tax will help those most affected by the pandemic
The proposals being put forward by the council’s Cabinet include a 1.99% increase on Council Tax and a 3% increase on the Adult Social Care precept.
Councillor Shane Hebb says this will amount to an extra 99p a week for 70% of residents in Thurrock, but the increase will secure services for the most vulnerable people in the borough.
He said, “Thurrock’s Council Tax levels are around £100 cheaper than neighbouring council areas – which is good for our residents, although it means that we have less to spend on services than others councils otherwise do.
“At a time like this – certainly as an authority with social care responsibilities – it is important that we do all we can to ensure that those who need our care are looked after.”
Councillor Hebb says the council has trebled their reserves up to £24 million since 2016 and are therefore able to reform services at a more considered pace.
He said, “We have reduced our forecast borrowing levels by £350 million over the next three years. As we have said before, the availability of the investment market is not what it once was, meaning that we are winding down that policy, which means an accelerated set of service reforms, which would have otherwise all had to have been done quickly in 2016.”
The Cabinet have also heard of proposed changes to fees and charges.
The most significant of these is set to be in the charges for home care services, which will see a phased increase over the next 3 years to bring them in line with costs and allow for a wage increase for carers.
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Tags: Thurrock, Council Tax
