Council tax cut for fourth consecutive year

Residents in Hammersmith and Fulham will have their council tax cut for the fourth year in a row tonight.

Councillors are to vote on the three per cent reduction as part of the Tory controlled borough's budget proposals for 2010/11. The council denied claims that tax cuts would be paid for by raising charges elsewhere and cutting services. Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh said the charges were in line with other similarly sized boroughs but that services were better.

He said: "Some people make the mistake of believing that cutting council tax bills must result in cutting services. It does not. Our savings come from removing waste and bureaucracy. We are slashing our historic debt, introducing competition to services and selling under-used assets that we no longer need."

If the budget is approved the council's share of a Band D council tax bill will be £811.78 which is £25 cheaper than last year and £105 less than 2006.