More Tory Councils To Challenge Government Over London Funding Cuts
2 min read
Exclusive: Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are set to follow Wandsworth in formally appealing cuts to local government following revelations over mammoth council tax rises.
It comes after PoliticsHome revealed that Wandsworth Council was planning on raising council tax by 160 per cent.
Last week, PoliticsHome also revealed that the Conservatives were planning to use the Sustainable Communities Act to submit a formal appeal to ministers asking them to reconsider reforms to local government funding.
On Wednesday, Conservative council leaders in Wandsworth met with Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake and former shadow local government secretary James Cleverly to discuss how they would escalate their response to the new local government funding settlement.
Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea were also at the meeting last week, as they considered launching their own appeals to the government, as well as Lib-Dem-controlled Richmond.
PoliticsHome understands that the Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea councils have now decided to move ahead with these appeals, with all three appeals submitted separately.
Westminster, which like Wandsworth was permitted to raise council tax above five per cent without a referendum for the next two years to raise more revenue, recently warned that it would have to raise council tax by up to 200 per cent to keep spending at current levels.
Under the Sustainable Communities Act, councils can appeal to government over decisions affecting them, following a public consultation. If this appeal is rejected, then the Local Government Association could make its own recommendations to the government on behalf of the council.
Wandsworth, which the Conservatives won from Labour in May, currently has one of the lowest tax rates in the country. But it is projecting a 40 per cent reduction in cuts to its grant funding following the government's rebalancing of council funding across the country.
The government has said its reforms to local government funding prioritise parts of the country with higher deprivation so that the system is "truly based on need”.
However, the changes will mean less funding for some local authorities in London, with MPs and councillors in the capital warning that the plans will exacerbate cost pressures.
Wandsworth Council previously warned that council tax would have to increase by up to 230 per cent without cuts.
The Wandsworth tax rise is expected to be implemented in April 2027 if it goes ahead, with the rate then being frozen for the rest of the term, PoliticsHome understands.
