LONDON ASSEMBLY: Members call for a lower hike

LONDON Mayor Ken Livingstone will redraft his budget after the London Assembly denounced proposals to increase his share of council tax by almost 40 per cent.

The Mayor had sought the increase to pay for an extra 1,200 police officers, offer half-price travelcards to 16 and 17-year-olds, invest in rail schemes and continue bus improvements while freezing fares.

But the 25-strong London Assembly told him plans to increase his precept by 38.4 per cent, which would add £66 to the average council tax bill, were unacceptable.

His precept is the proportion of council tax collected to help fund the Met police, the London fire brigade, transport and City Hall.

The Conservative and Lib Dem groups have formed an alliance demanding Mr Livingstone reduce his precept increase to no more than 17.5 per cent.

Bob Neill, Tory London Assembly member for Bromley and Bexley, said: "The Mayor's demands of 38 per cent are completely unacceptable.

"The Conservative group could deliver 1,200 extra police, 500 community support officers, more CCTV on buses and improved bus networks with a 13.8 per cent increase through tighter budgeting. It's not right to spend £50m on under-18s travelcards. We need to concentrate on priorities. We can't do everything at once."

The Labour group refuses to support the Lib Dem/Tory alliance, saying the increase should be under 30 per cent.

Len Duvall, Labour member for Lewisham and Greenwich, said: "We want more police on our streets and to give the fire service the equipment to tackle potential terrorist issues.

"There's a cost to pay for that. But we can make savings by being less ambitious with the timescale for other projects."

A spokesman for Mr Livingstone said: "The Mayor will now work with Labour to come up with a sensible budget compromise which will protect the proposed transport and policing improvements."

He now has three weeks to strike a compromise deal with the Assembly before it sets his budget on February 12.

January 28, 2003 10:00