Jack Rankin, the Member of Parliament for Windsor, has demanded that Housing Secretary Angela Rayner does not rubber stamp a proposal that will see Council Tax across the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead rise by an unprecedented 25%.
As reported on the front page of The Telegraph on Friday, the proposed 25% increase would be a record rise, hitting households with hundreds of pounds on top of their bills during the cost of living crisis.
Following persistent weak financial control and accounting in the Royal Borough, in recent weeks the S151 Officer Finance Director left her role suddenly.
In his letter, Rankin said: “If the Royal Borough were a company in which you were a shareholder and they asked for urgent further investment without being able to provide an audited view of their financial position, would you give them more of your money? I wouldn’t – and I do not see my constituents’ council tax bills any differently.”
In addition to this “professional incompetence”, the issues have been exacerbated by the political failure of the current Liberal Democrat administration, who despite pledging to “restore the Borough’s finances” and “introducing effective contract management” have presided over a rising £16 million-plus overspend and ballooning adult social care and children’s services complaints.
After warning the Housing Secretary that approving the rise will mask the Council’s underlying failures, Rankin called for a wider East Berkshire unitary authority and, if necessary, the short term imposition of central government commissioners around the Royal Borough’s asset position and developable land holdings.
Commenting, Jack Rankin MP said:
“The Liberal Democrats have presided over eighteen months of chaos in the Royal Borough, and in their latest instalment, they want residents to foot the bill for their failures with an enormous tax bombshell.
“Expecting residents to pay an 25% is an absolute joke. Not only would this be a shock to household finances in the middle of a cost of living crisis, it would allow the Royal Borough to become the catalyst for weak financial control, poor leadership and the misuse of taxpayers’ money elsewhere in Britain.
“The government must consider whether it is right or fair to saddle residents with such an unprecedented increase, and I strongly urge them to dismiss these ludicrous proposals.”
