Wiltshire's 5% tax rise confirmed as council avoids cuts

Liberal Democrat Gavin Grant said small changes in the budget could make life easier for disabled drivers

Wiltshire councillors have approved a 4.99% tax rise from April, equating to around £85 extra per year for a typical household.

The Conservative-led council has voted through a £486m annual budget which it said set it apart as one of the few English authorities not cutting services.

The Liberal Democrats' attempts to scrap disabled parking charges, and to prevent the closure of the county's main tourism organisation, were voted down.

Labour meanwhile criticised another rise in rents for council house tenants.

Conservative council leader Richard Clewer says Wiltshire's focus on long-term planning has helped it avoid the budget black holes seen by other councils this year

Wiltshire is bucking the trend among larger councils this year by avoiding the dire financial outlooks seen my many of its counterparts, a point hammered home with repeated references to neighbouring Somerset during Tuesday's debate.

"Outside of Wiltshire, local government is on its knees," Conservative leader Richard Clewer told the meeting. "We're not cutting services like other councils, we're investing in them."

If Wiltshire's leading Tories have a buzzword, it is 'prevention' - years of work have gone into targeting areas where costs were at risk of spiralling.

"There is nothing more fundamentally Conservative, than using the limited resources of the state to invest in helping the most vulnerable, of course saving money in the long term but more importantly getting people's lives back on track," Mr Clewer said.

Examples include reducing energy bills with considerable investment into making council buildings greener, as well as early intervention for families on the radar of social services, preventing so many children ending up in care.

'Morally wrong'

But the main opposition Liberal Democrat leader, Councillor Ian Thorn, warned the council risked failing to deliver things the public actually notice.

"Ultimately it's about delivery and ensuring Wiltshire residents actually feel the county cares and there are credible signs of change in people's communities," he said.

Mr Thorn compared the desperation in local authorities for more funding to that of a "drug addict waiting to receive our next fix of government funding, which ultimately is unsustainable".

His party has been urging the council to use its relative financial stability to undo some the controversial changes agreed in previous years.

Among them, what the Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Gavin Grant calls the "morally wrong" decision to charge disabled blue badge holders in Wiltshire car parks.

"Car parks are a profit centre for the council so we're seeking to reverse that particular policy," Mr Grant said. "It makes no sense, it doesn't cost much, lets get rid of it."

The Conservatives have argued many disabled drivers hold blue badges due to their age, and nothing to do with their ability to pay - remarks which sparked an angry response from opposition parties.

Protesters gathered before the budget meeting to call for the council to stick to its environmental targets

The Liberal Democrats also sought to halt the council's plan to wind up the county's main tourism organisation Visit Wiltshire, something Mr Grant described as a "bizarre, very serious thing to do".

The Conservatives are bringing the service in-house, to "reset" the county's tourism strategy to better help the local economy, particularly in town centres.

Labour only have a handful of councillors in Wiltshire, but their group leader Ricky Rogers criticised the "failure of bread-and-butter stuff" like reliable pothole repair and gulley clearance, and took aim at a 7% rise in council house rents.

Housing rents are typically based on a formula linked to inflation, and the council says accepting the rise provides more money for upkeep into the future.

But this was "punishing people more than they can afford" said Mr Rogers.

"We have placed upon those people, probably the least who can afford it, a 21% increase in rent in the last five years."

But most councillors from all sides accepted a need increase regular council tax by 2.99% plus an additional 2% for social care, reflecting cost inflation particularly in the care sector.

Council leader Richard Clewer told the meeting the budget set Wiltshire apart from many other councils