Is your council tax good value?
Council tax bills in England are going up by around three percent this year. That's in line with one measure of inflation, the Consumer Prices Index -- but it's significantly above the inflation figure your pay deal is probably based on, of 0.1%.
In Scotland, most council tax bills are frozen this year. We don't know the figures from Wales yet, and Northern Ireland uses a rates system instead. Do you get value for money from your council?
Council tax in our town is a joke, one bin bag a week and the street lights on our estate turned off! No salt on our estate when the snow was bad so what do we pay for? Eddie from mid wales
I work in a library where we provide an hour a day free computer use for those who cant afford one. As well as information for children and adults who cant afford books for study, not to mention escapism from reality by lending fiction books. People who have money are always willing to criticise us and forget those for whom we provide an invaluable service. Kate in Cheshire
In Northants it's not the council that's the problem. The police authority has just pushed through a 4.5% increase in their take of council tax. Paul, Northants
Jump to more content from this blog
About this blog
Subscribe to 5 live Breakfast
You can stay up to date with 5 live Breakfast via these feeds.
5 live Breakfast Feed(ATOM)
If you aren't sure what RSS is you'll find our beginner's guide to RSS useful.
Podcast
5LNPI: Have you forgiven your partner's transgressions? 03 Dec 09
10:13 Thu, 3 Dec 09
Have you forgiven your partner's transgressions? Tiger Woods has said that he regrets his with all of his heart and 'will strive to be a better person' and the husband his family deserves. What do you think? Have you ever been in his position and been forgiven? Or are there just some things you can never forgive and forget?
Download or subscribe to this programme's podcast
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~27~RS~)
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.
Our councils are creeking under the weight of well paid Directors and managers but in Darlington the only staff who are losing their jobs are on the frontline.
We have a Chief of Director's on £160,000 pa who also has 2 Assistant Directors on a £100,000 pa and another tier of even more Directors and Assistants. Why are they not made to take a pay cut to save some of the Wardens etc. who are being made redundant.
The last two major projects (Pedestrianisation & Eastern Corridor Road) had an overspend of nearly 20%
3.5 million pounds yet our well paid Directors all got to keep their jobs!
Complain about this comment
Councils (and central government) have always claimed poverty but when they have a pet project they always seem to find staggering amounts of cash. Just one example - look at the viral spread of millions of road humps, chicanes etc and imagine what that lot cost.
Couple that sort of thing with the 'fat cats' they all keep as pets and it's a wonder the poor things can make ends meet and afford to do the basics; despite the fact that they do so much less for our tax 'dollar' in recent years.
Complain about this comment
The reason for the rise in Council Tax is the fall in the amount property developers are able to stuff into brown envelopes. Local councils reek of local corruptiion and should be bought to book for the massive damage they inflict on the UK year after year! Ignorant, overpaid, utterly corrupt busy bodies...!!!!!
Complain about this comment
Paid councillors particularly Labour are the cause of high council taxes. Councils need to focus on services, not expensive building developments, which they can receive backhanders from, and which are more often a blight on the community, than a benefit. We need to go back to the previous more democratic committee system and scrap all the undemocratic reforms railroaded through by Tony Blair, which have made councils and councillors far less accountable and more able to get away with dubious deals.
Complain about this comment
I read today that the average 2009/10 council tax bill for England is 3%. Somewhat wide of the mark in the case of the residents of Abingdon in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire. My bill clearly states a percentage change of 4.1%; although on calculating the changes myself, using the Vale of White Horse District Council provided percentage changes from the last financial year, I calculate a percentage change of 4.9%! It is no wonder ordinary folk lose faith in local government. I have little faith in The Vale of White Horse District Council (VofWHDC) officials. I really would like the Government to step in and cap the VofWHDC Council Tax. Ordinary folk such as myself are really struggling to pay bills at present and having a council tax rise such as mentioned here is just another financial body-blow.
Complain about this comment
View these comments in RSS