Plans to increase tax for Wigan residents by almost five per cent are “under instruction from the government”, according to council leaders.
Wigan Council leader Dave Molyneux and his team insist the proposed hike is necessary to fund public services and address the budget deficit of £20.4 million in the year ahead. The final decision on the budget and the 4.99 per cent tax rise will be confirmed once it has been approved by cabinet on February 16 and full council on March 1.
Speaking at a briefing ahead of the crunch vote, Coun Nazia Rehman, portfolio holder for finance at Wigan Council said: “This is not a decision we have taken lightly, it is something the government has instructed us to do.
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For Wiganers in Band A properties, it works out as £46.88 extra per year, less than one pound a week, according to council data. Dave Molyneux, leader of the Labour-run council, said the increase was in line with government guidance as the local authority's fuel and wage bill increases, alongside its costs for services and products.
He said: “I’m not saying we are doing this with hands tied behind our backs, but it is looking as though we will be taking government guidance on this.
“The vast majority of councils across the country will be doing this as well. But what I am still confident about is that we will still have the lowest council tax in Greater Manchester.
“We may even have the lowest of all local authorities in the country. If we didn’t do this, it would certainly increase financial pressure.
“The way things are looking now there would be no get of jail free card from the government for funding [if things go wrong. So we have to make the most of what we have.”
The breakdown of the tax spike will have a basic increase of 2.99 per cent and an additional two per cent Adult Social Care Council tax precept. A one per cent increase in council tax in Wigan would currently generate approximately £1.3m of permanent funding, a report found.
The report went on to say how any decision not to increase the council tax by the full amount would effectively result in the council “foregoing permanent funding” from the government in future grant allocations.
On the positive side, the council boss revealed that there were no immediate plans to cut current services, including the council-run leisure centres.
Also safe for now, were the boroughs's big infrastructure programmes like the £135m galleries redevelopment in Wigan town centre, and its plan to boost apprenticeships and training to create more jobs. Mr Molyneux also revealed that free weekend parking for council-run town centre car parks is here to stay.
According to council leaders, by far the biggest area of concern is how they will continue to provide much-needed adult social care - including services for elderly, disabled and vulnerable residents.
Mr Molyneux told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The big one for, not just for Wigan but nationally, is Adult Social Care. The government actually said in a webinar that they accept it is significant and something they want to treat as a priority.
“They have just formed a new department called the Local Government Office to deal with this. That is a pressure on any local government and that cost is significantly rising.
“We are putting a lot of money into that so it doesn’t fall over and that it serves everybody.”
The concern was echoed by Paul McKevitt, director of resources and contracts and deputy chief executive, who said the borough’s population is ageing faster than the national average and demand is growing.
The budget will also include plans for children’s services and schools to help prevent future problems with the service and update the current structure.
This includes a £37.5 million programme to continue to overhaul the council's children's services department, last year graded as 'requires improvement' by Ofsted, and increase recruitment and retention of staff. For schools, a proposal to reduce admission numbers for schools that have less pupils than they are capable of holding is currently in the works.
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