Friday 1 February 2008

THATS HOW YOU DO IT.

It can be done: South Norfolk Council freezes council tax

South Norfolk Council joins Westminster and East Hampshire as the three local authorities in the country that are freezing council tax. Hammersmith & Fulham, as we reported at the end of last year, are in a league of their own with a second successive 3% reduction in their levy.

South Norfolk switched from LibDem to Tory control at last year's elections with twenty council seats won by the Conservatives. During 12 years in charge the LibDems had increased council tax by 285%.

Council Leader John Fuller issued the following statement:

"We approach running the Council by applying Conservative values of thrift & enterprise whilst making sure that the state is there to help those who cannot help themselves. We are a Council that has now got a grip on its projects and is putting resources into its priority areas, whilst freezing council tax. But that hasn’t meant cuts. Quite the reverse. We’ve improved services by spending more on recycling, tackling anti-social behaviour whilst helping the old and infirm remain in their homes with extra resources for aids-and-adaptation & expanding the handy-man service amongst many other improvements. We are not a business, but being more business-like has meant that we have been able to get a firmer grip on the public finances to providing better value for money for residents whilst delivering much more. And that’s what Local Government should be all about."

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