Troubled Slough Borough Council vows to resist extra tax rise

Council leader Dexter Smith said he wanted to honour a promise to keep the council tax lower

A "financially failing" council has said it will resist setting an inflated council tax rise of 8%.

Slough Borough Council and two other authorities were told by the government on Monday they could exceed the council tax cap of 5% for 2024-25.

However, council leader Dexter Smith said he would discuss the position with local government minister Simon Hoare.

He said the authority could use its reserves to ease the "extreme" financial pressure it faced.

Mr Smith told council cabinet members on Monday: "We think it is still reasonable and viable for us to maintain our budget commitment and promise to the electorate that we'd keep the council tax to 4.99%.

"We think it's not unreasonable to use our reserves, specifically the smoothing reserve, for this purpose."

Slough Borough Council was effectively declared bankruptcy in 2021

The government told three authorities - Slough Borough Council, Thurrock Council and Woking Borough Council - they could raise extra tax because of their "severe financial failure".

In 2021, Slough Borough Council issued a Section 114 notice, effectively declaring itself bankrupt.

In May's elections, Labour lost its majority on the council, allowing the Conservatives to form an administration.

Mr Smith told the meeting: "The government is saying in their opinion they think that we can't set the council tax at what we would like... So it's now up to us."

He said he would be meeting the minister later in the week.

Cabinet members were told the council remained in a "serious financial state, in need of exceptional... support".

They agreed a draft budget based on annual council tax rises of 5%.

However, councillor Wal Chahal, in charge of finance, acknowledged that using reserves was "not the right way to construct a budget".

He said the council would make savings in order to build a sustainable future.