"Middle class homeowners spared council tax hike" reads the Telegraph headline, referring to Eric Pickles's decision to postpone the long-planned revaluation exercise until after 2015. Suffolk County Council, meanwhile, is to outsource the majority of its services, according to the BBC, pointing out that under the New Strategic Direction, almost all council services will be offloaded to social enterprises or companies over the next few years.
Now call me old-fashioned but I can't help thinking that the two are connected. As the coffers dwindle, more and more services will have to be put out to tender as councils can no longer afford to run even the most sensitive schemes such as child protection. And as the quangos are abolished, more and more councils will be relying on the generosity of the volunteering public and charities to help out, all in the name of the "Big Society".
Pickles said: “Hefty council tax bills are a constant financial worry for many people. Today we are setting their minds at ease. We have cancelled Labour’s plans for a council tax revaluation which would have hiked up taxes on people’s homes.” Actually, Eric, in their election manifesto, Labour promised not to carry out such a revaluation.
