LEEDS TAXPAYERS WILL GET VALUE FOR MONEY (Leeds Liberal Democrats)

Leeds Liberal Democrats <info@leedslibdems.org.uk>

LEEDS TAXPAYERS WILL GET VALUE FOR MONEY

February 16, 2006 12:08 PM

I welcome the editorial comment in the Yorkshire Post (Weds 15th February); 'Councils taxed to the hilt'. You highlight the ever-increasing tendency on the part of the Government to heap more responsibility upon local authorities without providing the funds needed to deal with these additional burdens.

This year things are tougher than ever. Leeds City Council, like all other authorities, has to deal with pressures including increases in the cost of pay and pensions, the increasing number of vulnerable elderly and disabled people that we must care for, huge increases in the cost of household waste disposal, costs associated with hazardous waste disposal, as well as having to pick up the tab for likely increases in anti social behaviour in the long term as a result of changes to the Licensing Act. The 2.5% settlement increase we have been given in Leeds does not even come close to adequately covering all of this.

So it is correct of you to say that Ministers are passing the financial buck. However, we will do our utmost in Leeds to make sure that taxpayers do not suffer as a result. There will not be a single cut to frontline Council services in Leeds next year - in fact we will shortly announce a series of exciting new enhancements to the services we provide.

We are able to do this as a result of reductions we have made (with the full support of Council staff) to unnecessary administration and bureaucracy, and by getting more for every penny spent by the Council. There will be a 4.5% increase in Council Tax in Leeds this year, but residents can be confident that the level of service we provide will rise accordingly.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Mark Harris

Deputy Leader of Council and

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group

Leeds City Council