Press Give Verdict on Emergency Budget

The national newspapers have this morning given their verdict on chancellor George Osborne's emergency budget.

The Sun calls it a 'recovery masterplan,' whilst the Guardian says it promises 'pain now, more pain later.' The Daily Mail says that the middle-class will bear the brunt of Osborne's 'savage' budget, and the Financial Times says the package of spending cuts and tax rises is 'Osborne's kill or cure budget.'

Earlier, the Labour party seized on Osborne's decision to raise Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2.5% to 20% from Tuesday 4th January 2011 as evidence that the government's budget will hit the poorest hardest, accusing the Liberal Democrats of going back on pre-election campaigning against a possible rise in VAT by the Tories.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne
and Prime Minister David Cameron

Writing directly to supporters, Prime Minister David Cameron, said:

"I'm not going to hide it from you - what the coalition has announced is tough. But let's be clear, it's also entirely necessary and entirely unavoidable. Never forget - Labour left us with one of the worst economic inheritances imaginable. They racked up one of the biggest budget deficits in Europe - with the government borrowing one pound for every four it spends - and they doubled the national debt.

"Giles, in this emergency Budget I believe you have the measure of this government. Will it provoke debate? Certainly. Will it cost our coalition some popularity? Possibly. But is this the right thing to do - for the health of our economy, for the poorest in our society, for the future of our country? I passionately believe it is."

David Cameron Responds to Labour's Empty Budget

Mr. David Cameron, Conservative (Whitney), Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, has responded in the House of Commons to the Chancellor's presentation of the last Budget before the general election.

He said Labour

"have made a complete mess of the British economy and they are totally failing to clean it up." 

Mr. Cameron set out the big argument in British politics: Labour say 'don’t do anything before the election, let’s just sit tight and keep our fingers crossed', and the Conservatives say 'we need real action to get our economy moving – and urgently'.

Highlighting new policies that copied existing Conservative proposals, such as the stamp duty cut and new university places, he said the "

only new ideas in British politics are coming from this side of the House" and that "the only thing Labour bring are debt, waste and taxes."

The figures that stands out above any other, he said, was that Labour have 'doubled the national debt, and they’re going to double it again'.

Outlining the Government's failure Mr. Cameron criticised 'all those schemes that they launched with great fanfare' for failing to help enough people. He also drew comparisons on the state of the economy when Labour came to power to the present – including the huge increase in the debt and deficit, and a falling down the global league tables in terms of competitiveness, tax and regulation.

We need a credible plan to deal with Britain’s record debts", he said, criticising the Chancellor’s repeated hope to halve the deficit by 2014 as giving us a deficit "almost as big as when Denis Healey went to the IMF in the 1970s".

Moving on to the delay in dealing with the deficit, he said 'the risk to recovery is not in dealing with the deficit now, it’s in not dealing with the deficit now". Mr. Cameron said that 'every family knows that when your debts mount up, you need to start paying them off or things will only get worse', and that it is time for the Government to learn the same lessons.

"The Prime Minister and Chancellor faced a choice – between bold action in an election year or playing politics. Once again, they chose politics."

Mr. Cameron also emphasised the need 'to show the world that we are back open for business', saying that because Labour 'flunked the difficult decisions on spending, they are raising tax after tax after tax – all after the election'. 'These are the ticking tax bombshells timed to go off the day after the election and that will destroy our recovery.'

He said that the greatest risk to Britain's economic recovery was another Labour government. He said:

"No one has yet thought of a question to which the answer is five more years of this Prime Minister.

"We need a credible plan to cut the deficit. We need an unleashing of enterprise across the nation. We need a plan to boost employment through radical welfare and school reform. If ever there was a time when this country needed a radical change of direction it is now."

Mr. Cameron concluded that Britain needs a Conservative government 'to clean up the mess made by this Labour Government'.

"Britain needs new energy, leadership and values to get this country moving again. That’s the argument we’ll take to the country the moment the Prime Minister has been forced by the law of the land to call the election he has avoided for so long."

Budget 2010: Alistair Darling to Freeze Income Bands in 'Stealth Tax'

The Chancellor has decided to freeze all income tax bands, which will lead people to pay more tax on their earnings.


The tactic is being described as a classic 'stealth tax' by the Daily Telegraph and will be far larger than previously attempted. Personal allowances were last frozen almost a decade ago.

Every higher-rate taxpayer earning more than £43,875 will pay an additional £489 in tax as a result of the move, and 75,000 more people will pay this higher-rate tax for the first time.

The level at which inheritance tax becomes payable will also be frozen.

The moves are expected to be confirmed in the small print of the Budget and the rates will apply from next month.

The income tax grab comes on top of the new 50p higher rate of income tax which will come into effect next month for those earning more than £150,000.

Mr. Darling will also remove tax breaks for those earning more than £100,000. The targeting of people earning more than £100,000 is expected to raise an additional £1.2 billion.

Mr. Darling is also expected to confirm that Government borrowing is on course to total more than £1 trillion over the next few years following the 'extraordinary' actions taken to tackle the financial crisis. But speaking to Parliament at 12:30 this afternoon, he will refuse to sanction any immediate cuts to public spending, warning that it may endanger the recovery.

The Chancellor, who may have to cross a picket line of striking civil servants in order to deliver his third Budget, will today deliver what he promises will be a 'sensible, workmanlike' package of financial measures.

Mr. Darling is still expected to unveil billions of pounds in new public spending. He will announce that £1 billion of taxpayers’ money will be used for a new green investment fund. Extra money will also be earmarked to help the long-term unemployed. Schools are also set to be given extra funding.

The extra spending will be paid from the extra tax take. Government borrowing is also expected to be about £10 billion less than expected which has given Mr. Darling some room for manoeuvre.

Among the measures he is expected to announce is a new drive to stop tax evasion; a move to force banks to offer bank accounts to anyone who wants one in an effort to help those who see it as a barrier to employment; and he will update MPs on how far he has progressed to get international agreement on a global bank levy.

But discussions are still taking place over whether Mr Darling could afford to halt a planned 3p rise in fuel duty. If he does go ahead with it will mean motorists will have to pay even higher pump prices at a time when they are already heading through the 120p a litre barrier because of soaring oil prices.

There is also likely to be bad news for drinkers with a planned 5% increase on all wine and spirits.

Mr Darling is expected to revise down slightly the borrowing figures and will use it as a sign that the worst for the economy is over and that a feared 'double-dip' recession will not happen.

In a statement last night the Chancellor could not resist a barbed comment directed at Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Mr. Darling said Britain had come

"through what had been the most difficult circumstances for well in excess of 60 years."

When the Chancellor stated in the autumn of 2008 that the crisis would be the worst for 60 years he was attacked by Number 10. Last month, in an uncharacteristic intervention that lifted the lid on tensions between him and Mr. Brown, he admitted 'the forces of hell' had been unleashed on him by the Prime Minister’s advisers.

Mr. Darling attempted last year to play down the impact of freezing tax allowances as inflation was actually negative. However, inflation has now begun rising sharply which means the freezing of the tax bands is set to become a major financial issue. Inflation is currently running at three percent.

All of the main income tax bands will be frozen for the next year – including the tax-free allowance and the level at which higher-rate tax becomes payable.

This so-called 'fiscal drag' means that people pay proportionately more tax on their earnings, after receiving a pay rise. Most pay deals are linked to inflation. Income and other tax allowances typically rise in line with inflation.
If keeping pace with inflation, the tax-free personal allowance should rise from £6,475 to £6,669. However, by freezing the rate at £6,475, the Treasury will raise an additional £1 billion and every taxpayer will pay an extra £40 in tax.

The rate at which higher-rate tax is paid will also be frozen at £43,875. However, it should increase to £44,995. The Treasury will make an extra £450 million as a result - £489 for every higher-rate taxpayer, according to accountants.

The inheritance tax threshold is being frozen at £325,000 – which will raise £60m in extra revenues for the Treasury.

Last night, Mr. Mike Warburton, tax partner at Grant Thornton, the accountants, said:

"Inflation was negative last year so this was not an issue – but it certainly is not negative now. Freezing the allowances in this way shows ministers are back to their old stealth tax tricks."

The Conservatives will today warn of the extreme danger to the British economy if the debt problem is not addressed more quickly. The opposition have drawn up new research that shows the Government’s debt interest payments could reach more than £106 billion a year within five years.

Using what has happened in Greece as an example of how Britain’s debt problem could spiral. That figure would represent a trebling of the Government’s annual debt interest bill and it would be more than the annual NHS budget in England.
It would mean the cost of paying the interest on the national debt interest would rise from the equivalent of £24 per family per week to over £80 per week, or from £1,250 per year to £4,320 per year.

The Conservatives last night also announced that they are inviting people to dissect the Budget via the Tory party website – known as 'crowd sourcing'.

When Is An 8% Increase Not An 8% Increase?

Related content: 'Nettleham Parish Council Budget 2010/11' and 'Nettleham Parish Council Agree Tax Freeze'.

On Wednesday evening at the Nettleham Parish Council meeting held at the Mulsanne Park Pavillion a member of the public enquired as to how the comments made by Cllr. Giles McNeill, on behalf of the Parish Council, in the most recent winter edition of Nettleham News that:

"The Parish Council met towards the end of October and provisionally agreed to freeze the level of tax charged through West Lindsey District Council to local residents, known as the precept."

Could be reconciled with Council Tax bills issued by West Lindsey District Council that show an increase in the Parish Precept of 8% for the average Band D property.

The article continued and talked about the reduction in two subsidies, one for the operating costs of the burial ground, the other known as the 'per capita subsidy' which has traditionally been £2 per elector.

Under the Local Government Act 1972 s.150 the Parish Council raises most of its income through a separate chargeable levy on the parish, known as the precept, issued to the council responsible for collection of local government taxes, locally that falls to West Lindsey District Council. A parish council is a local precepting authority and may issue a precept each financial year.

The member of the public was correct that thier Council Tax bill from West Lindsey District Council shows an 8% increase in the level of Parish Precept charged as a component of the Council Tax to local residents. £74.01 in 2010/11 which is an increase on the previous year from £68.52 in 2009/10.

In the current financial year, 2009/10, the parish council has received £101,243 as precept income. This comprised of £90,358 as precept collected through the Council Tax, £4,967 as burial ground subsidy, £100 as the automatic base per capita subsidy - all parish and town councils currently recieve £100 - together with £5,818 being £2 per elector within the parish.

The figure quoted in the booklet, which accompanied Council Tax bills, for 2010/11 shows a precept of £98,222 collected through the Council Tax, but excludes £100 as the automatic base per capita subsidy together with £2,921 being £1 per elector within the parish, which is collected through the council tax, but found from West Lindsey's part of the Council Tax. The total being a precept requirement of Nettleham Parish Council of £101,243 the identical amount as the current year.

The increase shown on Council Tax bills is therefore not an increase in the amount of money precepted by Nettleham Parish Council but in fact is caused because revenue that used to be collected through the District Council's portion is now being accounted for through the Parish Council's portion of the Council Tax.

Cllr. McNeill has said:

"I apologise if this was not clear; the term 'freeze' applied to the level of precept income received and not the level of taxation charged to residents."

District and Parish Councillor Cllr. Alf Frith, Liberal Democrat (Nettleham Ward) noted at the meeting that the per capita subsidy had been introduced many years ago to ameliorate the fact that Gainsborough did not have it's own Town Council, which changed in 1993 when Gainsborough Town Council was established. Cllr. Frith also noted that at that time the per capita subsidy had come to the end of it's natural life and should have finished.

A senior official at West Lindsey District Council has indicated that:

"I know of no other authority in the country that has a per capita subsidy like this."

Local Schools Forced to Face Reality by Lincolnshire County Council

Lincolnshire County Council are taking tough decisions in light of the recession and local schools face necessary cutbacks after years of generous investment.

Some limited job losses and cuts in resources are predicted for Lincolnshire schools, when their budgets are announced at the end of the month, as they tighten their belts along with everybody else.

The Lincolnshire Echo reports that headteachers are bracing themselves for Wednesday, 31st March 2010 when they learn how much money they will receive from the local education authority - Lincolnshire County Council.

One thing they do know, is that it will be significantly less than in the last few years. The cuts, which are an inevitable effect of the economic mess brought about the recession, will challenge all schools in the county.

The paper reports that St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic High School in Lincoln is believed to be losing four staff members and up to eight support staff. Although the County Council can not at this stage comment on this sort of speculation.

Mr. David Hellier, Chairman of the Governors, is reported to have said:

"As with every school in the country, the headteacher and governing body are having to acknowledge that school budgets are not going to be as generously funded as they have been in the last ten years."

Mr. Ed Fitzpatrick, Headteacher at Cherry Willingham Community School, said:

"Most headteachers should have been aware that it has been coming for a long time – in other words, we have had ten years of relatively generous investment and we have known for a while there are going to be significant cuts. It's unavoidable."

The paper criticises the County Council who have decided, earlier in February, to re-direct £1.5m of the schools budget to primary schools for children with special need.

Drinkers Alliance Attack Government Plans To Raise Taxes on 'Middle Class' Alcohol

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is under strong pressure from 10 Downing Street to 'make an example' of whisky, gin and vodka drinkers when he makes his Commons statement later this month, the Drinker's Alliance claim.

The debate over the plans is further evidence of the tension between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mr. Darling, which boiled over last week when the Chancellor said No.10 had unleashed the 'forces of hell' on him after he predicted the recession would be the worst for 60 years.

Under the 'nuclear option' plan for increasing duty – designed to appease the health lobby and show that ministers are serious about tackling the problems caused by binge drinking – the cost of a bottle of spirits would rocket, along with the cost of spirit-based alcopops favoured by young drinkers.



A bottle of Bells whisky could rise from £14.79 to £23.73 while Gordon's gin, another favourite of middle-class drinkers, would increase from £12.79 to £21.17.

Even if Mr Darling imposed a less draconian rise, industry sources are braced for increases significantly above the five per cent already earmarked for beers, wines and spirits under the government's alcohol duty 'escalator'.

That ensured a two percent rise in duty above the level of inflation every year in the Budget for four years starting last year. Under Whitehall calculations, this year's escalator would be set at five per cent.

However, leading figures at No.10 are pressing the Chancellor to hammer spirits much harder, after a series of recommendations by MPs on the health select committee last year, Drinkers Alliance claim.

They say the report demanded that 'unlike in recent years, duty increases should predominantly be on stronger alcoholic drinks, notably on spirits'.

MPs called for a return to the level in 1983 when the duty on a litre of pure alcohol was 11 percent of the average male weekly manual wage, compared with 5 percent in 2002.

Such a move would send Britain to the top of the European league table for spirits tax.

Mr. Darling is understood to be fighting the calls for the very steepest possible increases – but Whitehall sources nevertheless expect him to introduce big rises in duty on spirits, in part to raise money to help cut Britain's record deficit.

The Budget – a key springboard for Labour's election campaign – is currently pencilled in by government planners for either Wednesday, 24th March 2010.

As The Sunday Telegraph has already revealed, Mr. Brown and Mr. Darling are at odds over the package, with the Prime Minister keen for it to contain spending increases on voter-friendly areas such as schools and hospitals, as well as jobs programmes for young people.

The Chancellor, however, is holding out firmly against a 'giveaway' Budget in favour of a 'realistic' statement to reassure markets that Labour is serious about reducing Britain's £178 million deficit.

There are claims the Treasury is also drawing up plans to increase VAT from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent – something those close to Mr Brown would fiercely resist just before the general election.

Mr. Darling reopened hostilities with No.10 with his 'forces of hell' comments – understood to have been aimed at Messrs. Charlie Whelan and Damian McBride, Mr. Brown's former spin-doctors.

Hitting middle-class drinkers with big rises in the cost of spirits would be electorally risky. However, leading figures inside No.10 are understood to be concerned that Labour is not sending out a clear signal that it is ready to get tough on binge drinkers.

The Conservatives, by contrast, have already pledged to increase the duty on alcopops and super-strength beer and cider without necessarily lifting the duty on spirits.

A four-pack of super-strength lager would rise by £1.33 and a large bottle of alcopop would increase by £1.50, under Conservative plans.

Mr. Jeremy Beadles, Chief Executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association, said:

"We are a vital industry to the UK's recovery. It is clear the Chancellor is under real pressure to significantly increase the duty on spirits.

"Thousands of jobs are at risk. The hard-working people of this country should not be made to pay for the recession.

"They should be able to enjoy a drink in these times of hardship without being penalised by extra costs. They are already paying enough in taxes. Enough is enough."

Council Tax Increase Held to 0.48%

Hard-pressed residents in West Lindsey are having the financial burden eased by an increase of less than half a percent in next year's council tax announced by the district council last night.

The increase is expected to be the lowest in the county and amongst the smallest anywhere in the country. On an average Band D property the increase amounts to 90 pence a year.

The authority’s budget meeting was told that despite an increase of only 0.48% the Council had still been able to invest in the environment, the local community and young people struggling to find jobs.

Leader of the Council, Cllr. Adam Duguid, Conservative (Market Rasen Ward) said:

"I believe the green agenda should be at the very heart of all that the Council does. I think we should be ambitious – we should aim to make West Lindsey the greenest district in the country within the next 10 years.

"We can attract new industries to this area in the fields of renewable energy, recycling and waste and energy savings technology. Some have already arrived. This will help create the prosperous district which is our strategic aim. Our farmers and rural businesses can be at the heart of this new agenda."

Cllr. Duguid said that young people could be trained into these new industries to give them an incentive to stay and make their life in Lincolnshire rather than head off for the bright lights elsewhere.

He also wanted to tackle the issues around rural transport and ensure that new housing was built to the highest environmental standards.

The Council also needed to develop more pioneering schemes like the outstanding social enterprise partnership at Hill Holt Wood near Newark that had already secured funding from the Future Jobs Fund to train 150 unemployed young people in a variety of skills that will help them to find work in the building industries of the future. Cllr. Duguid said:

"We now aim to develop this partnership with an investment of more than £500,000 in the Homes for All programme with funding secured from investors either moving into our area or expanding here.

"The Homes for All programme will buy long term unoccupied homes – we have more than 1,000 of them – and then bring them up to the highest environmental standards using the team of young people who have learned new skills at Hill Holt Wood before the homes are sold to housing associations"

Initially, the scheme will be targeted at the South West Ward in Gainsborough where the Council is also waiting for the results of a Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment before deciding what further action to take to tackle deprivation.

Cllr. Duguid also said the authority was putting its ‘money where its mouth is’ by pledging to reduce its carbon footprint by 25% by 2015. The Council is investing £200,000 which will be funded by the energy savings made over the next four years.

Another environmental challenge being met by the authority is flooding and £165,000 is to be invested in flood defence which will in turn bring in money from other sources to make schemes even more effective.

Working with partners is seen as a key factor in success, and Cllr. Duguid paid tribute to the work of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau which is doing vital work to help people who may have lost their job in the recession and have their home under threat.

"That is why I am proposing that we increase the grant to the Lincoln CAB by £4,330 to £12,000 and the West Lindsey CAB will receive a further £6,580 to a total of £45,000 to support the outstanding and important work which they are doing."

Other areas to benefit in the budget are:

• £50,000 to Distraction and Prevention Schemes to develop activities for teenagers and reduce problem behaviour.
• The restoration of the Councillor Initiative Fund which means every councillor can invest £1,000 in schemes in their ward.
• £50,000 to improve customer access and make sure that services are provided in way that is most suitable and appropriate to meet residents’ needs.

Cllr. Duguid added that local councils would come under increasing pressure to make very substantial savings in the months and years ahead, but West Lindsey was in a better position than most.

"We have been prudent in our expectations regarding government grant in the past and this has served us well. As we move forward into unchartered water we have modelled for a 5-15% cut in the coming years.

"We started making savings 18 months ago and we commissioned a root and branch review of all spending undertaken by the Council and £1.4 million of savings have been identified – about 10% of our annual net revenue budget."

He described West Lindsey’s financial position as ‘the envy of many of our neighbours in the county and beyond’ and this was the reason why the authority was able to maintain all essential services, invest in key priorities, and help ease the misery of the recession for local people. Cllr. Duguid said:

"We met with local people to consult about our budget and it was clear that their wish was for us to deliver the lowest council tax increase we could manage to help lift the pressure on many struggling households.

"We listened very carefully to what was said and that is why we have delivered an increase of less than one half a percent."

West Lindsey Distict Council Budget Speech 2010 - Cllr. Adam Duguid

Cllr. Adam Duguid, Conservative (Market Rasen Ward), Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Budget Speech 2010.

I have the pleasure to present the budget for West Lindsey District Council for the forthcoming year. The national economic outlook is, as we all know, difficult at the present time. Local Government will come under increasing pressure to make very substantial savings in the months and years ahead.

Some authorities are already under severe financial pressure and have been forced to make cuts to their services. Fortunately, West Lindsey is not in that position. We have been prudent in our expectations regarding the government grant in the past and this has served us well. As we move forward into unchartered waters we have modelled a cut in the grant of between five and fifteen percent for the forthcoming years. Our strategy around efficiencies and cost savings started some 18 months ago and this strategy does not end here.

This administration has commissioned a root and branch review of all spending undertaken by the Council to identify and implement further savings. We have already identified, through the work done to date, £1.4 million worth of savings, which equates to approximately 10% of our annual net revenue budget.

West Lindsey’s financial position is the envy of many of our neighbours in the county and beyond. Through long term planning and careful financial management we have placed ourselves in a position where we are able to:

• maintain all our essential services;
• invest in our key priorities for the future; and
• help alleviate the misery of the current recession for our residents.

This year the Council carried out a series of budget consultations across the District. Members of the public were able to attend and participate in some of the decisions which we have to make when setting a budget. These were well reviewed and approved by the participants.

I attended one of those consultation evenings in Market Rasen. It was very clear that this year the public felt strongly that we should deliver the lowest level of Council Tax increase which we prudently could manage, to help lift the pressure on many struggling households. We have listened carefully to what the public have told us. We have therefore decided to set the level of Council Tax increase for the forthcoming year below half of one percent - at the rate of 0.48%.

This is likely to be the lowest level of Council Tax increase in the County of Lincolnshire, and among the lowest Council Tax increases in the country. The Council is able to do this because of the responsible way in which we have managed our resources. This low rise in no way threatens the future financial stability of the Council.

I now turn to looking at our key priorities and the investment which we are going to make in the areas which are most important to us. The other night at the Organisation & Resources Committee meeting a member made what I thought was an important point about the proliferation of strategies and targets which all local authorities have to contend with. I agree with him that there is an element of ‘motherhood and apple pie’ to many of these strategy documents.

We all, of course, want to live in a prosperous district; we all want to help people improve their opportunities of obtaining a job; we all want an efficient Council. The “what do we want” question is quite an easy one. But the “how” question is rather more difficult. It is one which, in my opinion we have often struggled to answer. I believe that part of the answer to the question “how” is that we look at the district, its people and its resources and we tailor our response accordingly.

West Lindsey is a predominantly rural district where agriculture is still the major industry. People enjoy living here in part because of the rural nature of the area and the benefits that brings. There is a great interest among our communities in what has been loosely described as the “green agenda”. In fact, the recent Place Survey shows that residents in West Lindsey place the environment far higher on their list of priorities than people even in other parts of Lincolnshire do. I believe that we should place the green agenda at the very heart of all that the Council does. I think we should be ambitious – we should aim to make West Lindsey the greenest district in the country within the next ten years. If we get it right then I think that we can start to answer more effectively many of the “how” questions which I have posed beforehand.

We can attract new industries to this area in the fields of renewable energy, recycling and waste and energy savings technology. Some have already arrived. This will help create the prosperous district which is our strategic aim.

Our farmers and rural businesses can be at the very heart of this new agenda. We can train young people to work in these industries and lift the relatively low incomes in this area. This will give young people an incentive to stay and make a life here rather than leaving for brighter lights elsewhere.

We can tackle the issues we have around rural transport and ensure that new housing is built to the highest environmental standards and has affordable elements. The Council must lead by example and start putting energy saving and carbon reduction at the heart of its policies rather than merely paying lip service to them. We can look at pioneering some schemes of our own.

Furthermore, I think that this is a vision we can all participate in regardless of political party. Many of you will have some excellent ideas about how it can be achieved. It can become not merely the vision of the Conservative administration but the vision of the Council and its success will be a success which all of us can share in.

I believe that we have already started down this road with some excellent schemes in place. Many of you will be aware of our partnership with the outstanding social enterprise at Hill Holt Wood, a partnership which I helped set up at the very beginning. We have already secured funding for the Future Jobs Scheme with Hill Holt Wood. This will help train up to 150 unemployed young people in a variety of skills which they will need to find work in the building industries in the future. We now aim to develop this partnership with an investment in excess of £500,000 in the Homes for All programme. This funding will be provided from Section 106 contributions received by the Council. The Homes for All programme aims to purchase long term unoccupied properties in the district – and there are over 1,000 of them –and then bring them up to the highest environmental standards using the team of young people through Hill Holt Wood. These properties will then be sold to housing associations. Initially targeted at Gainsborough South West Ward, the scheme will provide ongoing training for young people, bring empty housing back into use and make these properties environmentally sustainable. We await the results of the Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment for the South West Ward. We have already committed resources to tackle deprivation and when the report is finalised the Council will consider what is required to deliver improvements.

The Council is further underlining its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by making an investment of £200,000 in order to reduce the Council’s carbon emissions by 25% by 2014. This scheme is an “invest-to-save” scheme which will self-fund itself with the energy savings which will be identified and implemented over the next four years. This underlines how this Council is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to the environment.

Flooding is one of the major environmental challenges which we have faced over the past three years. The Conservative administration believes that it is essential that this Council continues to provide financial support for effective schemes for flood alleviation. I am therefore announcing an investment of £165,000 in flood defence schemes in West Lindsey. By putting some of our own resources into these schemes we expect that we will be able to lever in funding from other partners to make these schemes more effective.

This Council cannot deliver any of its priorities without working effectively with our partners, both locally and nationally. In these difficult times the Citizens’ Advice Bureau is doing vital work helping people who are struggling, many of whom have lost their jobs and whose homes are under threat. Recently, we all heard an excellent presentation on the work the C.A.B. is doing locally. I am therefore proposing that we increase the grant by £4,330 to the Lincoln CAB and by £6,580 to the West Lindsey CAB to support their outstanding and important work. This will mean that we are contributing to the CABs of Lincoln and West Lindsey a total of £12,000 and £45,000 per annum respectively.

The Council needs to do more to ensure that every member of our community has ready access to Council services and facilities. I am therefore proposing that we devote £50,000 to improve customer access and make sure that services are provided in the way that is most suitable and appropriate to residents’ individual needs.

We all know that the teenage years are rather difficult ones. I certainly would not like to relive mine! In a rural area such as ours many teenagers find it difficult to occupy themselves and there are few organised activities for them.

Some become involved in antisocial behaviour, which is often a result of boredom and inactivity. I am therefore proposing that we devote up to £50,000 to the Distraction and Prevention Schemes which aim to develop activities for teenagers and reduce problem behaviours.

Finally, I believe that local Councillors are often the people who are most effective at understanding the needs of their individual wards and encouraging schemes which really help the quality of life for the people whom they represent.

I am therefore proposing that we restore the Local Councillor Initiative Fund for the next financial year. This means that each Councillor will receive an entitlement of £1,000 which can be invested in schemes within the ward which they represent.

By managing the resources of the Council effectively this Administration has been able to deliver the low Council Tax rise which our residents want. We have done this without cutting services. We have also been able to announce funding for a number of schemes which will make a real difference in the lives of the people whom we represent.

This Administration has also started to answer the question “how” which is posed by the series of strategies which talk about “what we want” in the Corporate Plan. I also believe that after the recent difficult months we have started to change the culture of this Council. There is already a better and more constructive relationship between the ruling group and the opposition – one which I believe will survive the strains that the electoral process will inevitably impose upon it.

Members and officers are working more effectively together. I think that all members must attend the series of workshops which the Improvement and Development Agency is organising. Their aim is to explore in detail what the proper relationship between Members and officers should be and how it can work best to the advantage of all.

The Council has already underlined its progressive and forward thinking credentials by appointing its first female Chief Executive who will take up her post in mid-April.

There is much to look forward to in the future and I am excited about the challenges ahead. I commend this Budget to the Council.

Nettleham Parish Council's Cemetary Fee Fixed in 2010/11

In the course of considering the precept – that part of the council tax that goes to the parish – for 2010/11 (which has been set at £101,243, the same figure as in the current year), and in particular the removal of a subsidy by West Lindsey District Council on the costs of the Burial Ground, the Parish Council has considered differential fees charged to residents and non-residents, and whether the burial ground should in the future only be for residents only.

It has been agreed that there will be no change to the existing burial ground fees system of charging, and that people from outside the village can continue to be buried in the village, although reduced rates will apply for Nettleham residents. As the parish goes through a transition between the old subsidised system to the parish being more responsible it was agreed that for next year any shortfall would be found from the Parish Council’s reserves.

A Burial Ground Appeals Committee has been set up consisting of Cllr. Mrs. Val Darbyshire and Cllr. Giles McNeill, to deal with any disputes about residency. Cllr. McNeill said:

"I think that people want to know that a fair system operates: in the future residents of Nettleham may have to subsidise costs of the burial ground, although it is my hope that this will not be the case.

"Local people will want to be assured that decisions, on these sensitive matters, are being taken by people and not coldly assessed by an inflexible set of rules or guidelines."

Lincolnshire Police Authority Budget Simulator

Lincolnshire Police Authority is responsible for setting the budget of well over one hundred million pounds. Over the next 5 years it is likely the Police will need to make significant savings every year to maintain services and adapt to changes in demand and legislation.

Because of this the authority are asking local residents to take a few minutes to tell them which areas of policing they should be making savings in, and which areas should receive the focus of the funding they have.

Currently Band D council tax payers in Lincolnshire pay £174.06 pounds per household per year towards Policing or just 47 pence a day for a 24 hour, seven days a week police service.

By clicking on the arrows in the simulator you can indicate whether you want to raise or lower spending in a particular area. You can also see if you increase spending in too many areas how this could increase the council tax that you pay.

Clicking on the heading for each section will tell you what that budget area includes.

By taking part in the budget simulator you will be helping us decide where funding should be spent and inform the budget setting decisions made by the Police Authority in 2010. It is vital that we obtain your feedback about the budget, particularly in the challenging financial climate we are now in.

So have a go: http://www.budgetsimulator.com/lincolnshire-pa/

West Lindsey's Council Tax Rise Less Than 1%

Next year's Council Tax increase from West Lindsey District Council will be less than 1%. That is the pledge from the ruling Conservative Group made by Acting Leader of the authority, Cllr. Adam Duguid, Conservative (Market Rasen Ward), following consultation meetings with local residents.

"We have spoken to householders who told us quite clearly that their budgets were under pressure in these difficult economic times and they wanted the lowest level of increase we could reasonably levy.

"Bearing this in mind, we have looked long and hard at our figures and because we made some difficult decisions last year we are now in a position where having an increase of less than 1% is sensible and will not lead to a reduction in key services or to massive cuts,"

Cllr. Duguid said that the foundations had now been laid for low council tax increases for the foreseeable future, but this did not mean that new projects and improvements would not be carried out.

"We set our priorities in August to do all we could to be a prosperous district and grow the economy in these difficult economic times.

"Our plans to build a swimming pool in Market Rasen remain on track and the project to make £3 million worth of improvements to Gainsborough town centre - funded by the Council and many other partners - will start on January 11th."

The meeting of West Lindsey District Council that will set the level of Council Tax is scheduled to take place on March 7 2010.

Residents in Nettleham will also be helped during the recession as Nettleham Parish Council has frozen the parish's precept - that part of the Council Tax raised for Nettleham Parish Council.

Leader of Lincolnshire Council Council, Cllr. Martin Hill OBE, Conservative (Folkingham Rural Division), recently has said:

"At the county council, we are preparing for substantial cuts in government funding, as the economic outlook for all local councils in England is the bleakest in decades."

It is expected that the increase in the proportion of the Council Tax collected for the county council will be around 2.5%.

Parish Council's Tax Freeze Remains Solid.

Update to Nettleham Parish Council Agree Tax Freeze.
Related Article: Nettleham Parish Council Budget 2010/11.

Despite signs that the Freeze in the monies raised by the Parish Council through the Precept was cracking and melting under the heat and pressure of the loss of subsidy to the Burial Ground, nevertheless the Freeze has held firm and solid.

Tonight Nettleham Parish Council met at Mulsanne Park Pavilion for our November meeting. One of the key items to appear on the evening's agenda was item 11 - Burial Ground Matters - at out Budget Meeting at the end of October the Parish Council had agreed to look at the fees charged for burials and interments of cremated remains at the Burial Ground which following the withdrawal of a subsidy from the district council meant that the parish council needed to find several thousand pounds to cover the loss of this income stream.

I was concerned that one of the options presented to the councillors was to effectively increase the contribution made by taxpayers to the Parish Council by a 1.39%. In hard times, when people are facing the pinch of the recession, and inflation (RPI Measure) running at minus 1.4% that could represent a real terms increase of 2.79%. An alternative was to increase burial and interment fees by 50%

Fortunately the Parish Council felt convinced by figures I presented which supported keeping the fees at the current levels. Further, based on the figures for the first half of the current financial year, and the cuts made to the budget to run the burial ground I firmly believe we will be able to provide the burial ground service at no cost to local taxpayers in the future.

Nettleham Parish Council Budget 2010/11

Nettleham Parish Council met on the evening of Wednesday, 28th October 2009 in the Small Hall at the Old School, Mill Hill, Nettleham to discuss and agree a budget for the financial year 2010/11. In attendance were Deputy Chairman, Cllr. Mrs. J. Clayton (in the chair), Cllr. Mrs. V. Darbyshire, Cllr. J. Downs, Cllr. J. Evans, Cllr. J. Hill, Cllr. M. Leaning, Cllr. G. McNeill and Cllr. M. Spencer. Cllr. M. Davidson, Cllr. A. Frith, Cllr. R. Sellers and Chairman, Cllr. T. Williams were all absent. Mr. R. Buttery, the Parish Council's Hon. Financial Adviser and Mrs. J. Finn, the Clerk (taking minutes) were in attendance, together with Mr. I. Gerrard, the Facilities Manager and two members of the public.

A proposed budget is submitted to councillors from the Parish Office with input from the Property Committee and other sources.

The Parish Council's budget covers areas as diverse as administration, the cost of elections, donations to local organisations, income from bequests to the parish, performing rights licences, management of village facilities such as the Old School, the burial ground & Mulsanne Park, tree planting & maintenance, allotments, village beautification - such as floral displays, grass cutting and the beck - village benches, maintenance of the church clock, play equipment & other capital investment projects and field paths.

Under he Local Government Act 1972 s.150 the Parish Council raises most of its income through a separate chargeable levy on the parish, known as the precept, issued to the council responsible for collection of local government taxes, locally that falls to West Lindsey District Council. A parish council is a local precepting authority and may issue a precept each financial year. It is therefore vitally important for councils to prepare accurate budgets. To this end, in recent years, Nettleham Parish Council have engaged the service of a Financial Advisor and are rigorous in having quarterly Financial Monitoring Reports presented. Other income is made through service charges, rents and grants for services undertaken by the Parish Council on behalf of other authorities.

On the whole the budget represented a 'steady as she goes' approach. Most budget cost codes being carried forward with some minor adjustments. The main changes centred on increased staff costs, primarily due to an ever increasing work load on the Council's officers. At the current stage the Parish Council has agreed to finance cost of the burial ground from charges to service users. This has come about due to the loss of the burial ground subsidy from West Lindsey District Council. The Council has also decided that a security guard will be provided at Mulsanne Park for occasional sweeps of the site to try and reduce incidents of vandalism. The Parish Council also agreed to put aside £3,500 into the major projects reserve, £1,000 for the Old School, £4,500 for Mulsanne Park and £3,000 for Bill Bailey's Memorial Field. So despite of the problems of the recession, reduced revenue streams from West Lindsey District Council (loss of the Burial Ground Subsidy and a reduction in the Per Capita Subsidy) the Parish Council nevertheless resolved to freeze the precept level. Whilst still substantially increasing capital investment by £4,500 and increasing and improving on services delivered. None of this can be made possible without the dedication shown by the members of the council and the staff who work particularly hard to deliver high quality service.

Nettleham Parish Council Agree Tax Freeze

Yesterday evening Nettleham Parish Council met for our annual Budget Meeting where the full council considers the council's budgetary arrangements for the coming year.

The good news for local taxpayers is that the council agreed to freeze the level at £101,243. A figure that represents quite an achievement in the light of the reduction in subsidy from West Lindsey District Council through the 'Per Capita' scheme - being cut in half this year, and lost totally in the year thereafter - and the ending of the burial ground subsidy.

I had proposed a small cut in the level of the precept to £100,850 but this was not supported by the other members of the council.

In the end Cllrs. Leaning, Evans, Hill, Darbyshire, Downs, Clayton and Spencer voted in favour. Cllr. McNeill voted against.

Cllr. Giles McNeill said:

"I would have liked to have reduced the precept - that part of the Council Tax that goes to the parish council - as a way of demonstrating that in these hard times of recession and deflation the council is firmly in step with local residents. I think that the freeze is not a bad result for local people.