Mayor to freeze council tax for another year

The London Mayor’s Office reports:

The Greater London Authority’s (GLA) share of the council tax will be frozen for a further year, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson has unveiled today.

Last year the Mayor put an end to the spiralling costs of the precept, which had risen by 152 per cent since 2000, by cutting waste and controlling costs. The Mayor was able to deliver £180m of efficiency savings across the GLA Group, without impacting frontline services.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London said:

‘Last year I committed to freezing the council tax- for the first time in the history of the authority- and I am pleased to be able to do the same again this year. When there is less money in people’s pockets and people feel less secure in their jobs it is important that politicians do all they can to protect the families and people of London from excessive tax increases. Once again there will be no increase in our share of the council tax. I am confident that we will continue to deliver more services for less, which is what a mayoralty should be doing.’

The Mayor’s 2009/10 consolidated budget requirement was £3,203.8 million. The total GLA precept was at £309.82 a year (Band D household).