Wandsworth council tax bills set to rise by 94% with residents paying £958 more

Wandsworth council tax bills set to rise by 94% with residents paying £958 more The maximum amount most councils in England can normally raise bills without a referendum is 5% - but six local authorities have been given permission to increase bills by more than this Wandsworth Council has announced plans to raise council tax by 94% in a move that has been described as “cruel and unnecessary”. The proposal would see the typical yearly band D council tax bill rise by £958 from April 2027. Wandsworth currently has the lowest council tax, with it costing £1,020 a year for a band D property - in comparison, the average bill across England is £2,392. The Conservative-run council says the increase is necessary after the Government announced plans to cut its funding. It claims it will lose £84million a year by the end of the next three years under these proposals, which are part of wider measures to redistribute cashflow toward more deprived regions. The maximum amount most councils in England can normally raise bills without a referendum is 5%. But the Government has granted six local authorities - Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, City of London and Windsor and Maidenhead - permission to increase council tax beyond this cap, following its funding cut announcement. Wandsworth, Westminster, Richmond and Kensington and Chelsea councils plan on challenging the Government proposals. A final decision on the Wandsworth council tax increase will not be made until early next year. Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Peter Graham, said: “Council tax will need to rise unless Government thinks again. And it must think again. “We do not want to do this, and we do not take this decision lightly, but the scale of the financial pressure facing Wandsworth means additional income is now needed to protect the services people rely on. Residents should not be left to carry the cost of an unfair funding system.” Cllr Simon Hogg, Leader of Wandsworth Labour, said: “This increase is cruel and unnecessary and will really hurt hard-pressed local people. Too many local families are just about getting by. This sudden blow will mean no summer holiday, no new school shoes - or more debt.“There’s no financial need for a vast increase this year. The decision is purely political. The Conservatives are whacking it up now so that they can cut taxes before the next election in four years’ time, and bribe you with your own money."