LABOUR TO PROPOSE LOWER COUNCIL TAXAt a meeting of Kent County Council next Tuesday, the Labour Group will make an amendment to reduce the rate of council tax. The current Conservative administration have come forward with a proposal to increase the rate of council tax by 3.9% - the rate by which state benefits and pensions will rise this coming April. The Labour Group has examined the budget proposals carefully and believes that savings can be made which will not affect front line services but give real help to Kent’s council taxpayers, especially those on fixed incomes.One example of waste is the Conservative proposal to set up Health Watch which will cost £300,000. This is supposed to deal with complaints regarding the National Health Service. Yet the Labour Government is currently setting up and financing a complaints procedure through Kent County Council called LINks, which will achieve precisely what Health Watch is meant to do and more, because its remit will include social care. In other words, some 300 Kent residents would be paying council tax to no good purpose. Mike Eddy, Labour Shadow Leader on Kent County Council says: “The Labour Government has poured money into Kent over the last decade. The cumulative effect of this has been to make it possible to consider lower rates of council tax increases than before. The Conservatives talk a lot about the need to help those on fixed incomes, especially pensioners, but when the opportunity presents itself they are not prepared to put their money where their mouth is”.Derek Smyth, Labour Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, says: “The Conservatives were wailing and whingeing about the awful settlement that they said the Labour Government was going to mete out to Kent this year. They were highly embarrassed that the settlement was much better than they had predicted and have found it difficult psychologically to adjust to this reality and ensure that Kent’s council taxpayers get the full benefit”.
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