On Monday 1 March 2010, Lewisham Council agreed to freeze council tax at current levels for the coming year.
The decision was part of a budget package that includes:
- a capital programme of £232.3 million
- a rise in council house rents of less than half of one per cent from their current levels
- a schools’ budget of £188.9 million
- £250,000 to protect adult learning opportunities
- an extra £730,000 to fund work to safeguard children and fund places for those taken into the Council’s care.
Council agreed revenue budget savings of almost £4.2 million in November.
Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, said: “I am delighted that councillors are all agreed there should be no increase in council tax. It’s important that we do everything we can to make things easier for people at this difficult time.
“We have managed to freeze council tax while still supporting and protecting front line services. We are also continuing to help people through tough economic times, like for example, continuing our funding for Lewisham’s public service apprenticeship programme.
"We’re able to do all this thanks to good management of our budget and by finding ways to become ever more efficient. We have, for example, made more than £18.5 million efficiency savings over the last two years.”
Published 2 March 2010