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23
Jan
Labour mayor under pressure over 29% council tax hike for fire services
Councillors have criticised the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire's planned hike in the county’s fire precept and called for evidence over government lobbying.
Labour mayor David Skaith has planned a 28.9% increase in North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s share of council tax — a rise of £24 on the 2024/25 precept.
It would mean a Band D property would pay £107.02 in 2025/26 towards the running of the fire service.
With other increases in the precepts charged by North Yorkshire Council, parish councils and for policing, council tax bills look set to rise sharply in April.
Mr Skaith said he inherited a fire service facing a challenging financial position that needed investment.
He also pointed to a freeze in council tax increases between 2011 and 2014 which meant the service lost out on around £21 million.
However, councillors on York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s overview and scrutiny committee yesterday (January 21) criticised the move and called for the mayor to demonstrate that he has made representations to ministers over a fairer funding settlement.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Tony Fisher, who sits on City of York Council, pointed out that the tax increase was coming at a time when people in Huntington had seen their fire station downgraded to an on-call service.
There is currently a proposal to do similar at Harrogate Fire Station by making one of its two full-time overnight crews an on-call service.
He said:
If you are going to put a precept increase, you are going to find it very, very hard to sell it to the people of north York who have seen a degradation in their service.
Cllr Martin Rowley, a Conservative who sits on City of York Council, said while he understood the reasons for the increase, he was uneasy about putting it to the public.
He said:
I’m uncomfortable in any increase in taxation. A 28% increase on the precept, however small it might be numerically, is a huge chunk that we are asking the people to pay.
Meanwhile, Cllr Andrew Waller, a Liberal Democrat on City of York Council, said the public needed to see evidence Mr Skaith had made representations to government over a fairer settlement for the fire service.
Labour’s Cllr Bob Packham, who represents Sherburn-in-Elmet on North Yorkshire Council, sought to defend the government and said the fire service’s financial issues stretch back to the previous Conservative government.
He said:
The fire service in this area was subject to appalling under investment. This seeks to address that and I think that we have got to address it.
However, Cllr Andrew Williams, who represents Ripon Minster and Moorside and is a member of the Conservative and Independents Group on North Yorkshire Council, said the service’s finances did fall at the government’s door.
He pointed out that ministers had removed the rural support grant for North Yorkshire — which was worth £699,000 to the fire service — and hiked National Insurance contributions for businesses and local authorities.
Cllr Williams said:
The government claims that by introducing the charges and costs to employers that no individual was paying more in tax as a result of the proposals placed by the Chancellor in the budget.
But of course they are paying more, because they are paying more here.
The committee agreed to ask Mr Skaith to write to ministers about a fairer funding settlement.
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