Council tax in Lewisham is set to rise by the maximum amount from April this year.

It will rise by 2.99 per cent - meaning an annual rise of £41.26 and a monthly rise of £3.44 for Band D properties.

In its annual budget meeting last night, the Council proposed a 1.99 per cent increase in the overall council tax rate and a 1 per cent increase for the adult social care precept.

The adult social care precept is a tax paid towards social care services for adults such as support for adults with physical and learning disabilities.

This is the maximum amount that council tax can be raised per year without holding a referendum, as Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources Cllr De Ryk cited a decade of austerity that has affected services across the borough.

“We are recommending the maximum increase because services remain stretched after over a decade of austerity funding and the continued impact of the Covid pandemic on Lewisham residents and the Council,” Cllr De Ryk said.

The Council has seen an overall budget reduction from £400 million to £250 million as it struggles to deal with the aftermath of heavy spending during the pandemic.

Mayor Egan, Leader of the Council, said: “Budgets across local government are absolutely stretched at the moment.

"We have more than 1000 fewer staff working at the Council, but we’ve also had to respond to Covid.

“That has left us another £20 million short because we haven’t been fully refunded by government for the money we’ve spent.”

Mayor Egan went on to add: “The government’s levelling up agenda sadly seems to be being used as an excuse to take money away from London, forgetting the fact that within communities like Lewisham there are high levels of deprivation.”

The rise in council tax comes as Lewisham residents face economic uncertainty in the coming year with rising costs for fuel, food, and energy affecting households nationwide.

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