County council to hold referendum on 15% council tax increase

Surrey County Council has unveiled plans to hold a referendum as it seeks to increase council tax by 15%.

David Hodge, the Leader of the Conservative-run authority, said: “We have to set a budget that will protect vital services for Surrey residents.

“Government has cut our annual grant by £170m since 2010 – leaving a huge gap in our budget. Demand for adults social care, learning disabilities and children’s services is increasing every year.

“So I regret, despite us finding £450m worth of savings from our annual budget, we have no choice but to propose this increase in council tax.”

Cllr Hazel Watson, Leader of the Liberal Democrat councillors on Surrey County Council, said today: "Liberal Democrat councillors on Surrey County Council oppose this huge increase in council tax which would be the largest increase in the country and is 9 times the rate of inflation. A 15% increase would be unaffordable for many Surrey residents and would hit the elderly and those on fixed-incomes hardest. It would be quite wrong for the Tories to try and shift this funding problem onto Surrey residents.”

Cllr Watson added that “the crisis in the funding of adult social care needs a long-term solution from national government not a temporary sticking plaster, which is what a large council tax rise would offer”.