Burnley councillors vote to raise council tax and their allowances – despite calls to freeze both

Burnley Council has added 2.99% to its residents’ tax bill at the same meeting as it increased councillors' allowances.
Band A properties in Burnley will pay council tax of £1,490.96 for 2023/24 (up from £1,431.00 last year)Band A properties in Burnley will pay council tax of £1,490.96 for 2023/24 (up from £1,431.00 last year)
Band A properties in Burnley will pay council tax of £1,490.96 for 2023/24 (up from £1,431.00 last year)

The bill for municipal services for 2023/24 will rise to £218.67 for a terraced Band A house and to £328.01 for a Band D semi-detached family home.

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This will bring the overall council tax bill, including the levies for Lancashire County Council, police and fire services, to £1,490.96 for Band A properties (up from £1,431.00 last year) and £2,236.44 (up from £2,146.50) for Band D, with some homes paying a further precept for parish and town council activities.

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The annual budget meeting on Wednesday night at Burnley’s Unity College also approved as 4.04% rise in councillors’ annual allowances, from a basic £3,732.36 to £3,883.15 as recommended by an Independent Remuneration Panel.

The meeting voted down moves by the Conservative group – which voted against the increase in allowances – and the Green party to freeze the council tax for the coming financial year.

It also defeated a Green group move to reallocate the £10,000 earmarked to promote celebrations for the coronation of King Charles III in the borough to supporting the local citizens’ advice bureau.

The meeting agreed to increase the council tax support scheme rebate for hard-up residents from 85% to 100% for the coming year leaving almost 7,000 people paying nothing.

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Burnley Council finance boss Coun. Sue Graham told her colleagues: “Central Government expects us to raise our element of Council Tax by 2.99%, and that is what we propose.

“Doing so means the council will have sufficient funds to deliver the services for the residents of Burnley and Padiham.

“With inflation currently running at 10.1% the increase is below the inflationary pressures placed on the council’s finances.

“As you all know, not increasing council tax by the level the government expects means that we would face a pressure on resources of more than £242,000 this year, and over five years this equates to a loss in income of more than £1million.

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“Failure to maintain the trajectory assumed by government means that future increases will be steeper and hit council tax payers harder.”

Her Conservative counterpart, Coun. Jamie McGowan, said: “What our amendment does is get rid of the need to increase council tax by a combination of savings on unnecessary items and the use of the extra financial support we have been given by the government to help people with the cost of living.

“This council has £721,000 sitting in a Covid-19 and Cost of Living Reserve.”

After the meeting Coun. McGowan said: “It is unfortunate that the same meeting chose to increase council tax and boost councillors’ allowances.”

Coun. Graham responded: “It is a modest increase in allowances. It is important that people of all ages can aspire to and afford to become councillors.”