- A freeze in the general element of Westminster’s council tax
- A 1% increase ringfenced to support adult social care
- Set to remain the lowest Band D Council Tax in the country
Westminster City Council has confirmed its budget for 2022/23. At a meeting on Tuesday 2 March, Full Council agreed to freeze the general element of its Council Tax for the next financial year (2022/23), with a 1% Adult Social Care precept increase that is ringfenced to fund the council’s adult social care services for residents.
Recognising the inflationary pressures that residents are under in the aftermath of COVID-19 and the increase in the cost of living, the Band D Council Tax will result in an annual increase of £4.64 or an equivalent weekly amount of 9p per week.
In addition, the Council has maintained a 100% Council Tax Support scheme for 2022/23 that largely mirrors the previous national Council Tax Benefit scheme. This means that Westminster Council has not reduced the level of Council Tax Support provided to our residents since the abolition of the Council Tax Benefit scheme, whereas reductions in support have been implemented by the majority of other local authorities.
Cllr Paul Swaddle, Cabinet Member for Finance and Smart City at Westminster City Council, said:
We understand how tough the past few years have been on everyone and how tough the year ahead may be, so we want to support our local residents in any way we can. Council Tax disproportionately affects those people who are less well off – even more so in this current economic climate – which is why we always looks to provide low Council Tax, and this year is no different. We are freezing the general fund element of Council Tax, despite the severe pressure that council finances have been under due to the effects of Covid-19.
Our priority is to support the most vulnerable so we have approved an increase in the amount of money that is ringfenced to be spent on social care, which includes addressing the impact of Covid-19 on residents, providing mental health and wellbeing support for all those who need it, our commitment to the borough wide Dementia Plan and trialling Smart City assistive technologies. Despite these extra costs, we still expect to have the lowest Band D council tax in the country.
Published: 2 March 2022