A guide to your Council Tax
Message from the Leader of Southwark Council
March 2023
Dear resident,
Every year we work hard to make each pound that the council spends on your behalf go further, so we can invest in the things that matter to you.
By spending money wisely, we have improved our schools, with 98% of them now rated Good or Outstanding. Our parks have been rated the best managed in London. We have created more apprenticeships than any other London council. We have opened a new high quality nursing home in Camberwell and we are building a new leisure centre at Canada Water, plus thousands of new council homes. In April we launched our new antisocial behaviour taskforce to tackle crime hot spots. In December we agreed a new Thriving High Streets Fund to invest in our local town centres, and in May we hit our target to halve the council’s carbon emissions.
This year we have also worked hard to support our whole community through the cost of living crisis, distributing over £30m of help. We set up our Cost of Living Fund and the free Southwark Energy Savers Service to help local people who are hardest hit. If you need help, go to www.southwark.gov.uk/here-to-help
We have invested in all of these things because local residents have told us they are important. We have done this whilst protecting services for vulnerable residents.
Your council tax has, in the last year, helped the council:
- Provide social care to 5,190 older and vulnerable residents
- Look after 426 children who cannot live at home
- Keep our streets clean and your waste removed and much of it recycled
- Support 1,225 people into work
- Provide 1.25m free, healthy school meals to local children
- Support 70 rough sleepers into long-term homes.
Continuing to fund these vital services is becoming increasingly difficult. Funding for Southwark Council has reduced by two thirds since 2010. As a result we, like other councils across London, have had to make the difficult decision to increase council tax this year by 5%. This will mean an average increase of £1.15 a week for residents in band D properties. 2% of this increase will be dedicated to improving social care for older people. The other 3% will be dedicated to providing support to residents hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.
Despite this increase, Southwark will continue to have one of the lowest council tax rates in London.
I am so proud of how our borough has pulled together over the last few years to support one another and I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who is working so hard to support our community.
Best wishes,
Cllr Kieron Williams, Leader of Southwark Council
Page last updated: 03 May 2023
