£330,000 blow for York taxpayers (York Liberal Democrats)

York Liberal Democrats <info@yorklibdems.org.uk>

£330,000 blow for York taxpayers

January 28, 2005 3:54 PM

exec holding Fair Deal for York letters in council chamber

Lib Dems are campaigning against government cuts to York

The York Council will be £330,000 worse off as a result of revised grant figures issued on Thursday by central government. The "final settlement" was expected to confirm the figures announced before Christmas but York finds that it has lost out.

The reduction is the third largest of any authority in the country.

Steve Galloway, Council Leader, said:

"This is very disappointing. £330,000 is the equivalent of a 0.7% increase in Council Tax and means we will struggle to stay within the 5% increase favoured by residents in the recent tax poll.

"However we are committed to try to find ways of doing that.

It is another example of how badly York fares when central government determines its grant. Because of the unfair distribution mechanism, the City was already receiving one of the lowest levels of grant in the country.

"These latest figures make the injustice even worse.

"I hope that we will have a new government, with a fresh policy approach to local government financing, by the time that the next round of negotiations takes place."