Brighton and Hove Greens plan referendum on proposed 4.75 per cent council tax rise

The Greens plan to put up council tax in Brighton and Hove by 4.75 per cent from April – and will ask voters to back them in a referendum.

The party said that the rise was necessary to protect services for the most vulnerable in response to government spending cuts.

Council leader Jason Kitcat said that his minority Green administration had been trying to find ways to fund services such as care for the elderly and grants to local charities.

He said that demand for care was rising but funding from central government – a key part of council budgets – was being cut.

Council tax rises above a certain threshold have to be put before voters in a referendum. The Greens believe that the threshold this year is likely to be 1.5 per cent.

The party said: “Current calculations show that a 4.75 per cent increase means a rise for a Band C property by £5.30 a month and for a Band D property by £5.97.”

Councillor Kitcat was spelling out his proposals this afternoon with, the Greens said, the unanimous backing of the Green group of councillors.

The proposed council tax rise also has the backing of Brighton Pavilion Green MP Caroline Lucas, the party’s local MEP and former Brighton councillor Keith Taylor and national leader Natalie Bennett.

The party said: “Three quarters of county councils and a third of other councils have already indicated that they plan to increase council tax to meet growing need and mitigate the worst of Westminster’s cuts.”

The proposal is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the Brighton and Hove City Council Policy and Resources Committee this afternoon (Thursday 16 January).

Councillor Kitcat said: “The coalition’s cuts mean we cannot deliver the services we were elected to provide and which our consciences say we should provide.

“We have no choice but to seek the views of local people on funding these services through a tax increase.

“Westminster’s ideologically driven cuts to local councils are huge and relentless while demand for our services continues to grow.

“Vulnerable people who depend on our services are being threatened from Westminster like never before.

“We have so far been successful in saving tens of millions of pounds but we can no longer find enough efficiencies to absorb all the cuts.

“Without today’s proposal, I fear for the serious impacts on the most vulnerable in our city from the coalition’s cuts.”

Caroline Lucas said: “This is a bold move and one that I know the council is taking very reluctantly.

“The people have not voted for austerity. They have not chosen to have services they rely on destroyed by draconian cuts.

“This is an appalling situation for which the coalition government is alone to blame.

“A referendum would allow the people of Brighton and Hove, including my constituents in Brighton Pavilion, to decide on the best response.”

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said: “As Greens we believe that decisions should be made closest to the people who are affected.

“Instead of letting Whitehall impose cuts on vulnerable people in Brighton and Hove, this announcement takes the decision to the people.

“It reflects Green principles being campaigned for around the country.”

Keith Taylor, a Green Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England and candidate in this year’s European elections, said: “Across the south east we’re seeing councils cut to the bone and all too often it is the most vulnerable who suffer.

“This announcement gives the people of Brighton and Hove a chance to decide for themselves what they want and to consider the best way to protect the vulnerable in the city from vicious Tory cuts.”

The proposal for Brighton and Hove is expected to be passed by the council in February unless opposed by both Labour and Tory councillors.

A referendum would then be held on Thursday 22 May at the same time as the European Parliament elections to save on administrative costs.

Councillor Kitcat described council tax referendums as “mad” last summer.

Today he said: “The other parties, especially Labour, will need to decide whether they trust the people of Brighton and Hove to make this decision.

“The Green administration I lead did not seek an election mandate to raise taxes in this way and in previous years I have opposed going down this route.

“But the unprecedented pressure on our budget from Westminster can no longer be absorbed, so we are seeking a democratic opinion from local residents – those who pay council tax and those who rely on the services it funds.

“Westminster is threatening services for the elderly who have worked hard all their lives and deserve our support in their old age, not reductions in the services which are often a lifeline for them.

“The city’s charities, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations provide essential services across our city’s communities. We must be able to support them.”

Councillor Leo Littman, the lead member for finance, said: “The storm clouds ahead for next year’s very severe financial picture mean we need to act now.

“We are of course continuing to work on saving money through reviewing fees, generating new business and selling off spare buildings.

“But that won’t be enough in the next two years to protect the city’s elderly and vulnerable from (Chancellor George) Osborne’s austerity agenda.

“Fortunately the upcoming European elections mean we can hold this major consultation with our residents for less than it would have otherwise cost.”

The Greens said that key elements of the revised council tax budget proposals, which will be published in full for the Policy and Resources Committee meeting on Thursday 13 February, included

• Protecting adult social care services, including home care, residential community care, day services, learning disabilities employment support and restoring subsidy to the Able and Willing employment service
• Protecting the full amount of funding to the third sector grants programme and sports grants programme
• A 4.75 per cent council tax increase which would raise £2.75 million more than the draft budget published last month which assumed a 2 per cent council tax increase
• A referendum to be held in May – the first in Brighton and Hove since a vote on whether to support a new stadium for Brighton and Hove Albion at Falmer

The revised budget will be have to be agreed at the cross-party Policy and Resources Committee on Thursday 13 February and at the annual Budget Council meeting of all councillors on Thursday 27 February.