Latest news with #local government
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MPs call for local authorities to be handed control of council tax
Councils should be given control over council tax as the current broken link between the local charge and the quality of services risks undermining local democracy, MPs have warned. An inquiry into the financial sustainability of local government concluded that councils should be given interim powers ahead of reform of 'the most unfair and regressive tax in use in England today', which it said should be more of a priority for the Government. This would include giving individual authorities the power to revalue properties in their area, define property bands, set the rates for those bands, and apply discounts, the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee said. The report said a broader devolution of fiscal powers, such as applying tourist tax, should also form part of fixing local government finances, which have been under growing strain since the onset of austerity in the 2010s led to reduced funding. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner recently said she wanted 'more push' towards fiscal devolution as part of the Government's pledge to transfer central decision making to local areas. The committee also recommended that central government ringfencing of funding be replaced with 'a rigorous outcomes-based system of accountability', so that local authorities are held accountable for achieving against a set of agreed outcomes within their overall budgets, not for meeting spending targets. Council tax bill rises hit 5% in April for the third year in a row, as almost all councils increased bills up to, or close to, the maximum permitted. The revaluation of properties has long been called for, with council tax bands in England still based on property values in 1991. The Institute for Fiscal Studies found that the most expensive properties (Band H) attract three times as much tax as the least valuable (Band A) despite being worth more than eight times more now, as prices have risen most in affluent areas. 'Council tax is therefore both increasingly out of date and arbitrary, and highly regressive with respect to property values,' it added. A recent analysis commissioned by the County Councils Network found allowing councils to administer and retain taxes generated locally would boost funding for services by more than £4 billion in many areas and 'supercharge' economic growth. Florence Eshalomi, Labour chair of the committee said: 'When residents are paying more and more in taxes but seeing less and less in regular, everyday services, such as libraries and fixing potholes, then trust in local democracy is at risk of being undermined. 'Government in England is overcentralised. The current financial pressures on local government are also driven largely by mandatory, high-cost, demand-led services, such as social care and special educational needs or disabilities, where councils have little control over these needs. 'Councils are trapped in a straitjacket by central government, with local authorities lacking the flexibility or control to devise creative, long-term, preventative solutions which could offer better value for money. 'If, as a country, we are going to deliver growth and improve local services, Westminster needs to ease its grip and let councils have more power to control their own affairs and be accountable to their own electorates.' The report also called called for the Government to reconsider its decision to freeze local housing allowance rates and extend its support for local authorities to acquire new housing stock through the local authority housing fund. Responding to the findings, the Local Government Association (LGA) said the findings provide further evidence of the fragile state of local government finances. Pete Marland, chair of the LGA's economy and resources board, said: 'Greater financial certainty and a simpler funding system are important. However, all councils remain under pressure and face having to increase council tax bills to try and protect services at the same time as making further cutbacks. 'A sustainable, long-term financial model for local government must lead to all councils having adequate resources to meet growing cost and demand pressures.' London Councils, which represents the capital's 32 boroughs, said the report shows 'change is long overdue', but raised concerns over the Government's plans for changing the way funding is distributed. Claire Holland, chair of London Councils, said: 'The Government's plans to reform council funding are pivotal for ensuring local areas receive funding that genuinely matches their levels of need and enables them to cope with fast-rising costs and pressures. 'It's right that the Government is targeting deprivation in the new formula, but we are concerned that the measures used in the current proposals will not sufficiently account for London's extreme housing poverty. This could mean London is left without the funding we need to deliver vital local services and return to financial stability.' A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'The Government is taking decisive action to fix the broken council funding system, so local leaders can deliver the vital public services their communities rely on. 'We have announced over £5 billion of new grant funding for local services on top of the £69 billion already made available this year to boost council finances, and we will go further to reform the funding system to make it fit for the future. 'This will ensure councils get the support they need and protect residents from further costs by keeping a 5% limit on the amount council tax can be raised without a referendum.'
BBC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform seeks to spend up to £570k on three assistants at council
The interim leader of Warwickshire County Council has put forward plans to hire political assistants at a cost of up to £570,000 a assistant would serve each of the three largest parties on the council - Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. Their salary would be up to £190,000 Finch, leader of Reform, which is running the authority as a minority administration, said it was necessary because council staff have been "unable to help come up with the imaginative ideas" to resolve key Lib Dems, Labour and Green Party oppose the idea. Lib Dem leader Jerry Roodhouse said money should be "spent on frontline services and not on political assistants". National legislation allows councils to employ up to three people for this role, one for each of the authority's three largest groups, providing they have at least 10% of the seats assistant's role is to "undertake research and provide administrative support to members of political groups in the discharge of any of their [council] functions".While they would be restricted in what they could say, they are allowed to "speak to the public with the intention of affecting support for a political party" and publish material intended to gain support for a political salary range for these jobs is between £151,000 and £190, 19, will present his proposals at a full council meeting on Tuesday, when a vote will also be held to decide if he should become leader of the Finch was confirmed in the role, he would be among the youngest in that position in the country and, in Warwickshire, oversee a budget of half a billion pounds along with council assets worth £ weeks ago, the Reform UK cabinet unanimously accepted principles set out in the council's medium-term financial plan, which included the assertion that it would "be necessary to set a very high bar for new permanent budget allocations". Disagreement over plans In a statement, Finch said: "For years, the council administration has relied on the corporate policy team to come up with the innovative ideas required to shepherd Warwickshire through the crises we face. "We've found this team to be unable to bring about the change we were elected for."He said the council needed a "fresh, bold approach to policy creation".But Roodhouse said: "I would rather spend £150,000 on family support workers or something that is useful in the community."Green Party group leader Jonathan Chilvers said he was "very surprised" by the proposal and added: "Their claim to voters was that they would cut 'wasteful' council spending, and yet their very first proposal does the exact opposite."Labour group leader Sarah Feeney said: "Given that we are at a time when there are massive cuts to services to balance the books, this seems like an unnecessary expense."The Conservative group said it had not yet made up its mind on the proposals. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
News24
5 days ago
- Politics
- News24
Meet the power couple helping young people swipe right for democracy
Ryan Young and his long-term boyfriend Yeshav Sewlal are revolutionising youth political engagement through their innovative platform, 'Yoh, Vote'. Their work - creating South Africa's political 'dating app' - has earned them recognition as News24 Young Mandelas for 2025 in the Deepening Democracy category. What started as a conversation between university friends about voter apathy has evolved into a platform that has reached more than 87 000 unique users. It matches young South Africans with political parties through a Tinder-style quiz and interface. The breakthrough moment came when Yeshav realised traditional civic education wasn't working. 'All my friends don't know about politics, but they use dating apps, so I was like maybe we should just make it into a dating app,' he said. The inspiration came from a moment that would resonate with many young South Africans. On election day during the 2021 local government elections, Ryan asked his friends at university who would vote. 'People hadn't even given it a thought, and it was like it was sprung on them. So there are young people who knew it was important but weren't engaged by parties or media,' Ryan told News24. 'Getting into politics is like starting a soap opera four seasons in,' Yeshav elaborated. Yeshav's Canva presentation to their friend group evolved into a comprehensive platform with a carefully crafted quiz that matches users with political parties based on policy positions rather than rhetoric. The technical challenge was significant- condensing complex political manifestos into digestible, unbiased information. The team physically drew out their matching algorithm, ensuring they could present policy positions without value judgements. 'There were so many manifestos that it was very difficult to condense them. We wanted to make it thorough but easy and quick,' Yeshav explains. The response exceeded expectations. 'We had a lot of people feel seen. There's not a lot of spaces out there that cater for our demographic,' Yeshav says. The platform reached 80 000 people in just seven months. However, the reception wasn't universally positive. 'People were either nice or distrusting,' Yeshav recalls, with some users suspicious that political parties planted the website. The founders address critics who argue they're trivialising democracy. 'As voters and citizens, how you engage in democracy is up to you, and having a serious academic debate with jargon isn't interesting for everyone,' Ryan responds. 'It's supposed to jumpstart your education into these topics,' Yeshav adds. Speaking about their surprise News24 Young Mandela nomination by a friend, both founders see it as validation of their mission to create alternative pathways for youth engagement. Looking ahead, the team faces questions about capacity and sustainability. While they've received expansion offers, they're focused on strategic next steps for next year's local government elections.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Minister sends team to 'take control' of Croydon council
The government is sending in its own team to take control of a south London council that has gone bankrupt three times in the past five government minister Jim McMahon said the scale of the financial difficulties facing Croydon Council and "the failure of the council to adequately respond to these difficulties" had led him to appoint four commissioners will have powers over financial management and decision-making and the "appointment, dismissal and performance management" of senior council Mayor of Croydon Jason Perry said the decision to appoint commissioners was "the wrong decision for Croydon and its residents". 'Financially distressed' Commissioners are appointed when a council is not performing its duties adequately, particularly in areas like financial stability and service said "a short and sharp reset, with fast action, is required to shift the dial on the council's recovery".In a statement to Parliament, McMahon said: "Croydon remains one of the most financially distressed councils in the country."Failing to change course would condemn Croydon's residents to a worsening position without a recovery strategy."I believe this is best achieved by escalating the statutory intervention to a commissioner-led model to ensure the council can achieve sustained change at the pace needed."The council has to pay the costs of the commissioners, including their fees and minister said most decisions should continue to be made by the council but with the oversight of the commissioners who "will uphold proper standards and due process and recommend action to the authority". Perry said: "It does not feel fair and consistent in line with the lower levels of intervention placed on other councils."I will not allow our residents to carry the cost of historic failure. I will not support any proposals that would destroy vital local services or impose further council tax increases above the government cap."Perry also said the council would "engage with the government-appointed team constructively".He added: "We will welcome their advice, challenge, and support, and we will continue to put Croydon's residents at the heart of every decision we make."Croydon Council became the first London borough in two decades to effectively go "bankrupt" back in went on to declare bankruptcy for a third time in November promised to address the borough's £1.4bn debt burden when he was elected in cuts include the closure of four libraries in November 2024 and a restructure of the authority's Youth Engagement tax in Croydon has increased by more than 26% since Conservative-led council attributes its financial problems to a surge in homelessness and social care demand, along with rising costs for children's placements.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council welcomes government scrutiny
The leader of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has welcomed scrutiny from the government after it issued the authority with a best value measure, taken by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), encourages authorities to demonstrate continuous Patrick Harley said his administration could "cast iron" guarantee that it would continue to said: "The improvements we have made over a short period of time are incredible and I very much welcome the best value notice as an opportunity to outline that to the government." In the notice addressed to the council, the MHCLG acknowledged the "important steps" that had already been taken to address "issues". It listed working with an independent improvement board, developing an improvement plan and identifying and agreeing savings plans to improve financial sustainability as positive moves. However, it added: "Ministers remain concerned as to Dudley's capacity to comply with its best value duty under the Local Government Act 1999 and have therefore decided to issue Dudley with this best value notice."The notice also explained further reasoning behind why it had been sent, including recommendations from an external auditor in January 2024, who called for "urgent action to address the council's budget position and use of reserves". An annual audit report published in November 2023 also found "cultural problems relating to the inappropriate behaviour of some members towards officers".The council's historic difficulties in delivering planned savings and significant value for money weaknesses were also cited. 'We have welcomed scrutiny' Discussing the notice, council leader Harley said: "It will allow us to give that cast iron guarantee that we are already far down the track and will continue to improve."From the very beginning, we have welcomed scrutiny as part of a fresh start and this notice adds to that."We recognise that there is still more work to do and we will approach that with the same drive as we have with our successes to date."The best value notice is to be reviewed after 12 months, at which point the department will confirm whether it has deemed it necessary to continue to seek assurance. If that is the case, the notice will remain in place but the notice may also be withdrawn or escalated at any point based on available evidence. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
