Richard Willis has picked up a report published by the unofficial Conservative pressure group the Tax-Payers Alliance stating that the number of Council workers earning high wages has increased unjustifiably in recent years.
The claim is that Reading currently has 139 employees earning over £50,000pa and 52 on more than £60,000pa - and that this is the cause of recent large Council Tax rises.
However questions of partiality and bias hang over the paper; without providing information on the number of workers who earned just less than the threshold in 2006 it is made impossible to judge whether the increase is a result of excessive wage inflation or if it has been caused by a huge influx of new middle managers.
Reading Chronicle reports Conservative MP Rob Wilson arguing recent rises in Council Tax are not being spent on frontline services, as Labour claims.
And yet when council tax rises have been lower in Reading's Labour-dominated council than in local boroughs run by Conservatives they have faced criticism of "selling off the family silver" in order to do so.
Oranjepan asks:
why is it that according to Conservatives our council taxes are in all cases both too high and too low - except where they are being set by Conservatives?
=
Here is a list of Council Tax rises for most Berkshire local authorities in the past two years.
Reading - 3.5% (07/08), 1.9% (08/09)
Bracknell Forest - 4.94% (07/08), -(08/09)
Slough - 4.99% (07/08), 4.85% (08/09)
West Berks - 2.9% (07/08), 3.9% (08/09)
Wokingham - 3.24% (07/08), 4.94% (08/09)
Windsor & Maidenhead - 3.8% (07/08), 2.3% (08/09)
[07/08]
[08/09: Reading; Slough; West Berkshire; Wokingham; Windsor & Maidenhead]
Windsor & Maidenhead have announced that in the year ahead (09/10) Council Tax there will rise by an average of 2.9%. They are the first local authority in Berkshire to publish figures.
NB. Rises are capped at 5% by central government. The headline figure is generally calculated as the rise of tax on Band D properties. Council income from Council Tax amounts to about 1/4 of the total (Berkshire borough councils each budget on incomes around the £100m mark).
I would be grateful if any reader could provide the comparable figure for Bracknell Forest in 2008/09 to complete the list.
=
Click here for a full comparison of Council Tax rises in the different local authorities across Berkshire.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
-
▼
2009
(449)
-
▼
February
(55)
- HE Under The Spotlight
- Tomorrow PM?
- Recommended Reading List #10
- Politicians Show United Front
- Budget Delay: The Free-Market View
- Budget Delay: The Common Sense View
- Budget Delay: The Independent View
- Budget Delay: The Media View
- Recommended Reading List #9
- Budget Debate Assumes Greater Significance
- Second Reading For Private Member's Bill
- Council Reaches Impasse on Annual Budget
- Feud Ignites Over Local Political Funding
- Taxpayers to Pay for 'Free' Festival
- Children's Services Fallout Hits Wokingham
- Wokingham Announces Council Tax Rise of 4.68%
- University Decision 'Ridiculous', 'Deplorable' and...
- Call-in Success
- Strike Ballot Confirmed
- Filling A Gap
- Recommended Reading List #8
- Strife Spreads Among Tory Ranks
- Electoral Fraud Case Opens
- Labour Avoids Fact-Finding
- Council Tax Updates
- Recommended Reading List #7
- Recommended Reading List #6
- Pro-Business or Not Pro-Business?
- Angling for a Headline
- Child Protection Update
- More Council Tax Rises
- Taking Stock of AWE
- Housing Event Reports
- Recommended Reading List #5
- More Complaints Please!
- Thames Water Strike?
- Salter's Final Bow
- Round-up: Martin Salter MP Stands Down
- Mental Health Conference in Reading
- Your Home Matters; Your Views Count
- All Atwitter?
- Recommended Reading List #4
- Literally Reading
- Round-up: The Council Tax Divide
- After the Snowfall Comes the Thaw
- Reading - In Java!
- Editorial: How Free is Your Media?
- Recommended Reading List #3
- Council Tax Rise Leaked to Local Press
- With Friends Like These, Who Needs an Opposition?
- More Views on Heathrow Expansion Proposals
- RBC Spends Extra on Childcare
- The Wages of Spin
- Editorial: House Rules for Commenting
- Step-gate
-
▼
February
(55)
- On The Eclectica Trail
- On The Election Trail
- Who Is Your Hardest Working Local Politician?
- The Expenses Scandal
- Berkshire Council Taxes
- Reading Budget 2010/11
- Reading Budget 2009/10
- Reading Civic Status
- Reading Festival
- Reading University in Transition
- Reading Buses
- Transport Matters
- Local Crime Issues
- Sport & Leisure Stories
- Children's Services in Reading
- Housing in Reading
- Local Media & Communications
- Weather Issues
- King's Meadow Campaign
- Bath Rd Reservoir
- Pincent's Hill & White Hart Meadow Campaigns
- Save Our Pubs!
- Heathrow Expansion
- AWE Aldermaston
- Berkshire Jobs
- BBC Berkshire
- ITV Local - Meridian
- Teletext Thames Valley
- BBC Radio Berkshire
- Heart Berkshire Radio
- Reading4u 87.9fm
- Reading 107fm
- Radio Bracknell Forest
- Asian Star 101.6fm
- Local Berkshire
- City Local - Reading
- Berkshire Life
- Reading Post
- Newbury.net
- NDS - South East
- Google News - Reading, Berkshire
- Topix News - Reading
- About My Area - Reading News
- Spark
- Reading Forum
Berkshire Campaign Links
- Action For Market Towns
- Amnesty Reading
- Berkshire Nature Conservation Forum
- Bring It Back
- Campaign Against Living Miserably
- Campaign Alliance For Lifelong Learning
- Campaign For The Reform Of Council Tax
- Econet Berkshire
- Greenham & Cookham Commons Commission
- Gurkha Justice
- Jubilee Debt Campaign
- Keep Trade Local
- Kennet Valley Ark
- Living With Fibromyalgia
- Loddon Valley Action Group
- National Playing Fields Association
- NO2ID
- RACE
- Re-Open The Jolly Anglers
- Reading Area Charities Together
- Reading CAMRA
- Reading Civic Society
- Reading Cycle Campaign
- Reading Friends of the Earth
- Reading Pride
- Reading Refugee Support Group
- Reading Single Homeless Project
- Reading Trade Justice Group
- Reading Voluntary Action Directory
- RISC
- Rising Tide
- Save Calcot Fields
- Save King's Meadow Baths
- Save Pincent's Hill
- Save Slough Town Hall
- Save The Bath Road Reservoir
- Save Windsor Fire Station
- SkyScreamers
- SOS Reading
- Stop Heathrow Expansion
- UK Missing Kids
- White Hart Meadow - Have Your Say
- Whiteknights Studio Trail
Reading List Politics
Political Information
- - Public Resources - -
- AboutMyVote - register to vote
- votewise.co.uk - compare the candidates
- TheyWorkForYou
- The Public Whip - MP voting records
- HearFromYourMP
- WriteToThem
- r8yourpolitician
- WhatDoTheyKnow - Freedom of Information requests
- iPetitions
- E-Petitions - No10 Downing St
- parliament.uk
- The Electoral Commission
- The Stationary Office
- The Hansard Society
- Political Studies Association
- Do Politics
- Get Elected
- The Straight Choice
- Democracy Club
- Be A Councillor
- I'm A Councillor
- Contact your councillor
- RBC Complaints Department
- Planning Portal
- Planning Alerts
- Report A Crime - Thames Valley Police
- Report Empty Homes
- FixMyStreet
- FillThatHole
- ClearThatTrail
- Scenic Or Not?
- The Best Of... Reading
- Touch Local - Reading
- info4local
- OnePlace - South East England
- UpMyStreet
- AboutYourArea
- GroupsNearYou
- ONS - Reading Statistics
- DirectGov
- NHS Direct
- NHS Choices
- Consumer Direct
- Connexions Direct
- jobcentre plus
- Tax Credits Helpline
- RecyclingNearYou
Help, Advice & Support
- Age Concern Berkshire
- Alcohol Help
- Berkshire Disability Information Network
- Berkshire Family Mediation
- Berkshire Lowland Search & Rescue
- Berkshire MS Therapy
- Berkshire NHS Drug & Alcohol Specialist Services
- Berkshire SAR Dogs
- Berkshire Women's Aid
- beYou
- Child Support Agency
- Childline
- Children's Information Centre
- Communicare
- Connexions Berkshire
- Daisy's Dream
- Divorce Aid
- Fatherhood Institute
- FRANK
- Gingerbread - single parents
- Heartbeats
- Help the Aged
- learndirect
- Life Story Theapeutic Centre - Psychological and Therapeutic Care
- links
- Living Reading
- National Debtline
- No5 - Youth Counselling & Info
- Parent Partnership Reading
- Princess Trust Carers Service (Berkshire)
- Readibus
- Reading & District Hospital Charity
- Reading Citizen's Advice Bureau
- Reading Community Welfare Rights Unit
- Reading Credit Union
- Reading Refugee Support Group
- Reading Samaritans
- Thames Valley Crimestoppers
- The Edge
- The Pension Service
- There4U - Berkshire
- Tilehurst Poor's
- Victim Support
- West Berkshire Buddies
"Reading List... is fantastic, it could help revolutinise politics in Reading"
Matt Blackall
"Prolific"
Matt Brady
"Irrelevant"
Adrian Windisch
"Bizarre"
Reading Geek Night
"A bloggers digest of the Berkshire blogosphere"
DMOZ
"An easily accessible collection of Berkshire's excellent blogs"
The Cookham Blogger
"An excellent digest of the thoughts of local bloggers"
Reading Guide
Matt Blackall
"Prolific"
Matt Brady
"Irrelevant"
Adrian Windisch
"Bizarre"
Reading Geek Night
"A bloggers digest of the Berkshire blogosphere"
DMOZ
"An easily accessible collection of Berkshire's excellent blogs"
The Cookham Blogger
"An excellent digest of the thoughts of local bloggers"
Reading Guide
Reason being is that Conservative held councils receive less funding from the Government... duh!
ReplyDeleteParty politics influences everything... just as big capital schemes such as new hospitals, schools etc., tend to be built in marginal Labour constituencies, or Labour heartlands.
Your journalism is just as bad as the Evening Post's!
Thanks for the comment, Alex.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, it's a bit of a sweeping statement to say Conservative-run councils receive 'less' in their central grants, whether in real or relative terms. Conservative-run councils also happen to be in areas where less deprivation exists, so there is generally less need for spending on essential services.
However I was making a slightly different point, namely that the Conservative case being built around this subject could carry more weight if it was able to show more detail. As it is their argument for lower council tax rises across the board does not address the full range of problems, even though it strikes a populist note.