Three Conservative council leaders in London have written to Andy Burnham, accusing the government of “devolving blame” for council tax hikes, PA reported.
The leaders of Westminster, Wandsworth and Kensington + Chelsea councils say they are being forced to significantly increase council tax or slash services to plug a hole left by cuts to central government funding.
It comes after the “fair funding” review of council allocations resulted in a formula that redirects cash to more deprived areas.
Shadow local government secretary James Cleverly said Londoners are facing a “Burnham penalty on their council tax”.
The Tories are calling for local government secretary Angela Rayner to urgently review the funding changes that they say are “set to worsen the lives of local residents across London and the south-east”.
However, a government spokesperson said they are “fixing an outdated funding system” whereby some of the wealthiest parts of the country “benefited from exceptionally high levels of government support, while communities facing greater pressures lost out”.
They added that the reforms make the system “fairer for taxpayers across the country”.
