‘Fundamentally unfair’: Council tax in Oldham is going up

Council tax in Oldham is going up.

Bosses have confirmed a hike of 5 per cent - the maximum possible - from April.

They said it was ‘fundamentally unfair’, criticising the government over its funding package for local authorities.

The rise will see the households in band A pay £74 more a year; band B £86; band C £98; band D £111; band E £136; band F £160; band G £185; and band H £222. 

Of the extra cash coming in - around £2m - the town hall will set aside 1.99 per cent for social care.

Households in Saddleworth and Shaw and Crompton will pay slightly more due to Parish council contributions.

Councillors discussed the rise at a cabinet meeting.

Soaring demand for services amid the cost of living crisis has left the town hall, like every other across Greater Manchester, struggling to balance the books.

With a £30m budget black hole to plug this year, councillors said  they had ‘no choice’ but to raise the household precept.

Council leader Arooj Shah said: “The way councils are funded is just fundamentally unfair.

"Those areas of the country with the most need are not given the funding to meet that need.

"Until that injustice is righted all we can do is protect vital services as much as we can.”

The Labour-led council rejected a proposal by Conservative councillors to freeze council tax and make up the shortfall by booting a third of councillors out of the chamber.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Coun Shah said there was a ‘vast inequality’ in the way the council tax system works across the country, with the ‘odds stacked against areas like Oldham’. 

She added: “Michael Gove keeps talking about increasing council spending power.

"But that’s not any major additional funding.

"It just gives us the ability to increase the council tax - effectively passing on that pressure on to local people. 

“The system is rigged and broken.

"A one percent council tax rise in a more affluent area like Westminster, with higher value homes and more people eligible for council tax, can bring in two or three times more income than in Oldham.

"And they have less demand on council services because the local population is more affluent.  

“Westminster and other affluent councils have other ways to bring in millions of pounds of income every year - whether that’s parking charges and fines or selling land assets.” 

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities responded that they recognised councils are facing challenges. 

They said: “That is why we recently announced an additional £600 million support package for councils across England, increasing their overall proposed funding for the upcoming financial year to £64.7 billion - a 7.5% increase in cash terms.

“This additional funding has been welcomed by leading local government organisations, but we remain ready to talk to any concerned council about its financial position.”

The council have also agreed to £11m in cuts and will take an almost £10m chunk out of the council’s reserves to cover the shortfall.

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