Parking charges and council tax frozen (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)
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Parking charges and council tax frozen in Richmond
10:22am Friday 1st March 2013 in News By Amy Dyduch
Budget man: Deputy leader Geoffrey Samuel
Parking charges and council tax will be frozen after Richmond Council announced its budget for the next financial year.
The Liberal Democrat opposition wanted to amend the budget to divert a £4m to frontline services such as school improvement, adult social care and the voluntary sector.
Deputy leader and cabinet member for finance Councillor Geoffrey Samuel said: “I am pleased to announce that for the third year running we will not be raising the council tax. This is good news for all our residents.
“At a time when so many families are being squeezed financially, any increase would be unthinkable.”
He said it was likely the council tax would rise between 0 and 1 per cent the following year - a maximum of 25p per week for a band D property.
In his budget speech in the council chamber on February 26, Coun Samuel announced a £3m investment for pavement and highway repairs and a further £85m for schools.
But Lib Dems said structural changes in schools, such as converting them to academies and introducing sixth forms, were having an adverse effect of performance.
Leader of the Lib Dems, Councillor Stephen Knight said: “Instead of cutting the school improvement team in half as the Tories have done, resulting in falling value added results in seven out eight local secondary schools, we would invest in supporting local schools to raise standards.
“We would build more affordable homes and create a new grant scheme for local families facing extreme hardship.”
The Lib Dems said they would introduce a borough-wide 20mph limit in all residential roads but Coun Samuel said at the 20mph zones of his Hampton North ward, there were twice as many complaints about traffic.
He said: “20mph limits are not always a panacea. Our aim will remain to deliver the lowest possible increase in council tax whilst maintaining or improving the services that residents tell us they value the most.”
Comments(2)
Twickenham Bob
says...
10:33pm Fri 1 Mar 13
In Westminster the council is paying over £12,000 A month per family to put them up in four star hotels as the council isn't allowed to rent properties for them because of the benefit cap.
I note that in Richmond we also have a lot of people - in the hundreds - in hotel accommodation - and that must be costing a bomb.
Meanwhile - Richmond council could be getting affordable housing built but allows developers off the hook. For those who say - but it makes the scheme unaffordable, the common practice is for the affordable housing to be joint funded by the developer and a housing association. Housing associations have the money ready and waiting.
If Tory dogma did not get in the way, taxpayers and needy would both be better off.
ken elmes says...
3:53pm Fri 1 Mar 13
Realizing after a few days this was a waist of council taxpayer’s money, I told the agency career to stop calling as they were just watching my own career.
My own experience is as follows –
When in 2007 I opted for direct payment, at the councils suggestion, I was informed that this was to be spent to buy the care and assistance I needed when and how required. This worked out very well and satisfactory up until 2012.
The council decided, in 2012, to take a component of my disability living allowance as part of their care plan. This had the effect of reducing my available cash for care/PA by 5 hours a week. I have been trying to get my hours increased by this amount for many weeks. This also to account for my deteariating physical condition with encroaching age, extra help, all agree, I now need.
I have had the same career/PA now for over 3 years; we have worked together very well on flexi time according to what I want and need to do throughout the day. Always on telephone call, if required, he is very helpful and caring and now puts in many more hours than he is paid for.
Today, as it is sunny, after he has showered me he is driving out to the park or riverside for a walk with the wheelchair. On Wednesday afternoon taking me to a talk on ‘Historical Teddington’ and on Friday to a meeting at Ruils – ‘Your Say’.
Twice a month he takes me to an evening committee meeting of an organisation I was a founder member many years ago. As I have said many times our care and life style is not regimented by set times, and is very flexible, I do not need extra careers but the hours reinstated for my long standing excising career, taken from my DLA.
Now the council, instead of allowing the 5 hours to be reinstated, started to send in agency care at set times throughout the day to do work my career/PA is all ready doing, at times we might be out. Today, Wednesday and Thursday we will be. This is not acceptable as it upsets our programme.
It is ridiculous that I ask for 5 hours to be reinstated at £9.00p per hour, £45 a week as my ‘DLA‘ used to be, and instead they send in agency care for over 7 hours a week, costing goodness know what at agency prices.