Thurrock Council: Conservative administration agrees 9.99% council tax rise

The Conservative administration of an effectively bankrupt council has agreed to increase council tax by nearly 10%.

Thurrock Council leader Mark Coxshall said the rise of 9.99% was needed to fix the authority's finances.

The council has built up debts of about £1.5bn as a result of high risk investments.

Mr Coxshall said it was a "tough decision" but without it "there is no future to Thurrock as a stand-alone council".

Residents will also see an initial set of cuts to services like street cleaning, street lighting and youth services.

The unitary council in Essex has a budget gap of £636m for the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24 and has listed a series of cost-saving measures in its proposed budget.

As well as reductions in services, £30m will be saved from selling off council-owned property, land and assets over the next financial year.

It was given exceptional permission from government to increase its share of council tax beyond this year's legal limit of 4.99% from April.

The rise would cost a Band D property an extra £144 a year.

Councillor Graham Snell, who is responsible for finance, said Thurrock "will still have the lowest council tax in Essex".

The authority's council tax has not been increased by the maximum every year over the last decade and officers said this meant it had £48m less than it could have raised.

Instead, the council had relied on income of about £30m a year from its controversial investment programme from which it lost £275m.

The budget, approved by the cabinet on Wednesday night, is dependent on receiving a £636m bailout from the government to help balance its books.

It has asked for an initial £180m from the Treasury to prop up its budget for 2023-24 and it is expected the authority will hear from Westminster before every councillor votes at next week's budget setting meeting.

It is not known what conditions the government will place on the indebted council if it provides it with Exceptional financial support.

Commissioner Nicole Wood, who was appointed by the government to oversee Thurrock's finances, said it was "a pragmatic budget" but warned councillors that this was just the beginning and they will need to "look at further savings" during the year.

She said they were "hopeful" the government would provide exceptional financial support but it was not guaranteed.

Council tax is also likely to go up above the current legal limit set by government in future years.

Thurrock's council tax is currently 22% below the median average for unitary authorities in England.

The Labour group indicated it would not vote for a council tax rise higher than 5%.

Opposition leader, councillor John Kent, described the 9.99% rise as "a slap in the face" to the people of Thurrock.

The Conservatives have a majority so unless any councillors rebel the budget will pass.

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