Barnet will continue to be a low council tax London borough under Labour, as set out in plans agreed by councillors earlier this week (22nd February 2023).

Out of the 33 London local authorities, Barnet’s council tax will be the 14th lowest out of 33 London local authorities next year, compared with being the 16th lowest in 2022/3.

In the upcoming year council tax for a Council Band D household will be £1,403.

That is less than Brent (£1,490) Camden (£1,466), Enfield (£1,518) and Haringey (£1,558) as well as a full £326 less than Conservative Harrow (£1,729).

The budget proposed by Barnet Council’s Labour administration delivers on its key manifesto pledge to never increase council tax by the legal maximum in any one year (4.99 per cent), and proposes one of the lowest council tax increases in London (3.8 per cent).

Residents will also see their overall council tax bill discounted by 1 per cent to reflect the promised refund of last year’s Conservative council tax hike.

Labour have also established a Resident Support Fund of £2m to help those struggling with the cost-of-living crisis – taking overall council support for people in need to £9m.

Council Leader Barry Rawlings said: “I am delighted to confirm that in this budget we will be keeping our election pledges to refund last year’s council tax increase and keep any increases below the legal maximum.

“Responsible leadership means balancing the need to keep residents’ bills low and ensuring we have the resources to secure a cleaner Barnet with safer streets that takes on the challenge of climate change and helps those in need.

“We have all seen under the national Conservative Government what the result of a freewheeling tax policy is: economic chaos, a supercharged cost of living crisis and an inability to take on the big issues of the day.

“Leadership requires difficult decisions to ensure stability. Increasing residents’ bills is among the hardest, and we have set aside an additional £2m in a Resident Support Fund to help those struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

“This package means that we can run the council responsibly and accelerate the programmes that are already changing residents lives for the better – from the return of the community skips service to the upgrades to our CCTV – while maintaining value for money.”

Given continued underfunding from central Government, Barnet Council is raising its council tax by 3.8 per cent – one of the lowest increases in London. The majority of London boroughs are raising council tax by 4.99 per cent – the legal maximum allowed without a referendum.

In addition, Cllr Rawlings has asked council officers to look at introducing a 100 per cent council tax rebate policy for the lowest paid for 2024-5.

The planned council tax rise of 3.8 per cent was passed by the council’s Policy and Resources Committee on 22nd February 2023. It will now be voted on by a meeting of Full Council on Tuesday 28th February.

The rates for all Council tax bands in Barnet for 2023/4 are projected to be:

Council Tax Band
Annual Payment (£)
A
934.68
B
1,090.46
C
1,246.24
D
1,402.03
E
1,713.58
F
2,025.14
G
2,336.70
H
2,804.04

For more information about the Household Support Fund from Barnet Council please contact your child’s school, childcare setting or health visitor.

The 2022 Barnet Labour Manifesto can be found here.

Information on Barnet Resident Support Fund for those who a struggling in the cost-of-living crisis can be found here.

Papers passed by the Council’s Policy and Reports Committee can be found here.