Boost for Fenland residents as council tax frozen

Councillors have voted in favour of keeping its council tax portion the same for 2020/21 as the council continues to meet its ambitious savings target.

It is thought that Fenland will be among only three per cent of local authorities across the country not to propose a tax hike for the coming year.

However, households will still see a rise in their overall council tax bills due to precept increases from Cambridgeshire County Council (3.59 per cent rise), the Office of the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner (4.49 per cent rise), Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority (1.91 per cent rise) and local town and parish councils (average 4.42 per cent rise).

Fenland District Council collects all elements of the council tax as the collecting authority for the area.

The Government has allowed local authorities to raise their council tax by up to two per cent in 2020/21 (plus an additional two per cent for councils providing adult social care). If Fenland District Council had implemented a two per cent rise, it would have cost taxpayers £156,000 overall.

As it has not, it means the council’s portion of a Band D council tax will remain at £260.46 per dwelling, or £173.64 for a Band A dwelling (84 per cent of Fenland’s properties are in Bands A-C).

The overall Band D council tax, including all precepts, will be £1,924.38 per dwelling, up from £1,865.97 in 2019/20.

However, the average total council tax per dwelling in Fenland in 2019/20, taking into account all precepts, all Bands A-H properties and exemptions such as single person discount and council tax support, was £1,262.74 – the lowest in the whole of Cambridgeshire.

Cllr Chris Boden, leader of Fenland District Council and portfolio holder for finance, said: “Local authorities are under financial pressure, with significantly less money coming from central government. But since austerity measures hit in 2010 we have reduced our budget by 33 per cent and made savings of almost £10 million, whilst protecting and enhancing frontline services.

“Given the scale of challenges and uncertainties faced by the council, the financial forecasts represent a significant achievement. It means we are a good position for what lies ahead and can balance our books without increasing the tax burden on our hardworking residents.”

The savings have been achieved in a number of ways, including management and service reviews, shared services, procurement and income generation. Proposals implemented have included the relocation of the council’s March and Wisbech One Stop Shops, a shared CCTV service with Peterborough City Council and the leisure centre management contract with Freedom Leisure.

There are also a number of other opportunities for the council to accomplish further savings and generate additional income. They include the development of its Commercial and Investment Strategy, looking at investing in property and developing council-owned land, and its ‘Council For The Future’ (CFF) transformation plans.

These include the ‘My Fenland’ project to modernise customer service arrangements, with plans to utilise technology and launch a new website to enable residents to access services 24/7.