Council tax freeze

As the economy emerges from recession, we have set a budget freezing council tax for the second year running. The £320m budget, which was agreed on 23 February also includes more than £13m in savings aimed at protecting frontline services.

The budget contains £14m in necessary new spending, which includes an extra £2.7m on child protection in the wake of the baby P case and £1.5m mainly to cope with pressure on services for people with disabilities. It also includes £4m in contingency funds to cope with the future impact of the fragile economy and £3.9m in new costs because of changes in legislation. 

In 2010/11 the council tax for a band D property will be £1,221.96.

How your council tax is spent

In total 37% of the council budget is spent on supporting older and disabled people with a further 31% going on children's services. Almost a quarter is spent on environmental services with 8% for everything else - from planning and major regeneration to employment and business support.

Government grant pays for 72% of council spending with the rest (28%) coming from council tax. A quarter of your council tax pays for the Greater London Authority and the cost of police, fire and  across the capital. 

Further information

Find out more about council tax in Southwark or view the council tax guide that was recently delivered to all homes in the borough.

• Pay your council tax by direct debit
• Read the full budget article in the Spring edition of Southwark Life magazine