COUNCIL TAX MYTHS DEBUNKED

Hyndburn Conservative Leader, Cllr Peter Britcliffe, has repeatedly accused Labour of overcharging on Council tax as current indications show that there will be a surplus of £165,000 by the end of the financial year in 2015.

Mid-year figures are not considered a reliable indicator of the financial position at the end of each year and Cllr Ken Moss rebuffed the accusation.

He said, "A cursory look at the Council tax increases since 1999 shows that Cllr Britcliffe increased Council tax by considerable amounts nearly every year that he was in power. Labour haven't raised HBC Council tax since 2011 and still managed to deal with the cuts imposed on us by the Conservative coalition government, plus put a bit aside to deal with the £12.9m of debts you left us with in 2011. If we are overcharging, what on Earth were you doing during your decade in control?"

The table below shows the HBC portion of Council tax since 1999 when Cllr Britcliffe became Leader of the Council. The percentage figures in red show years when Labour have been in control in Hyndburn:

BAND D COUNCIL TAX

YEAR       HBC      INCREASE    TOTAL

1999/00 £151.53       6.9%   £939.87

2000/01 £151.51       0.0%   £982.46

2001/02 £163.41       7.8%   £1,026.56

2002/03 £167.88       2.7%   £1,098.32

2003/04 £174.42       3.9%   £1,199.61

2004/05 £181.22       3.9%   £1,258.67

2005/06 £190.28       5.0%   £1,300.39

2006/07 £199.70       5.0%   £1,364.35

2007/08 £209.29       4.8%   £1,438.88

2008/09 £219.65       5.0%   £1,492.83

2009/10 £230.52       5.0%   £1,543.31

2010/11 £230.52       0.0%   £1,548.74

2011/12 £230.52       0.0%   £1,548.74

2012/13 £230.52       0.0%   £1,552.40

2013/14 £230.52       0.0%   £1,533.22

2014/15 £230.52       0.0%   £1,557.87

A financial report is produced for each monthly Cabinet meeting and the latest one can be read here:

Financial Position 2014-2015 - Report to end of July 2014