"Costs rising due to the Elderly
Elderly and disabled people are the reason for the annual rise in council tax, according to Surrey County Council. The 4.8 per cent rise for 2008 to 2009 will mean an average band D family will have to pay an extra 93 pence per week making a yearly bill of £1,058. The rise is just below the UK interest base rate of 5.5 per cent.
As part of a list of "increasing demands" on the council including highways and disposing of waste, caring for the elderly and disabled people came out top. Executive member for resources at Surrey County Council, David Harmer said: "Medical Science has been very successful in increasing the life of old people and disabled people. "Old people are living longer and are the biggest increases of our costs which are driving up the 4.8 per cent."
Surrey County Council says it will spend an additional £16.3 million in services for adults and £9.1 million for children's services. A total of £5 million is expected to go towards supporting the elderly and £11 million towards supporting disabled people.
Mr Harmer said: "It's a wonderful thing for medical science but it is expensive." Surrey County Council also plan to spend an additional £300,000 on improving disabled access to council buildings. The rise in council tax comes despite a £2.8 million increase in funding from central government which the council says is a "big cut when put alongside the £28.4 million cost of service costs and demand pressures in the county".
The Government gives Surrey residents £205 funding per person for vital services, way below the national average of £595. Surrey County Council claims that limited funding means residents' council tax has to pay for 81 per cent of services.
Leader of the council Nick Skellett said: "This is a council tax increase which has its origins in Whitehall and not in Surrey. "We went to see the local government minister in December to confront him with our concerns and our arguments do not appear to have been listened to. "Once again the Government has failed to give us enough money to meet the needs of Surrey people, but we have managed to keep down our rise to 4.8 per cent, just under a pound a week for a typical Band D household. "We have had significant problems in matching demand with resources and it is has been extremely difficult, given the constraints placed upon us by Government, to find solutions to very difficult budgeting problems.
"We feel a strong sense of accountability to our residents and value for money is a core priority. "We have to make every penny count and are continuing with our programme of efficiencies and improvements for the benefit of Surrey people. "By setting the rate at the level we have means extra investment in roads, which we recognise is an important issue for Surrey people. There is extra investment in care for older people ? helping them live independently rather than having to go into care homes; more investment in youth and children's services and more for libraries."