<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old leader of a Reform-led council has defended proposals for a 3.89% council tax rise, despite senior officers saying anything less than 5% would put the financial viability of the local authority at risk.<\/p>\n
Financial executives at Warwickshire county council said in December<\/a> that the proposed increase was a \u201criskier financial strategy\u201d that would threaten the medium-term sustainability of the local authority.<\/p>\n Reform UK\u2019s position on council tax has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks after the party was accused of betraying its election promise to reduce taxes. At least four of the 10 councils the party controls had proposed 5% council tax rises<\/a>, the maximum permitted by law, at the beginning of this year.<\/p>\n George Finch, who has led a minority government at Warwickshire<\/a> county council since he was appointed leader in July, defended proposals to increase council tax by 3.89%.<\/p>\n Finch said: \u201cIt\u2019s not an ideal situation. We want low tax, low spend and we were always committed to that. It\u2019s just that national pressures that the government is not solving [such as] Send [special educational needs and disabilities] home-school transport.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people understand that taxes do have to go up now. I am dead against increasing taxes and I will do as much as I can to lower that bill and that burden.\u201d<\/p>\n Council officers told the administration in December that to balance the budget it would have to make further cuts of \u00a34.2m for every 1% reduction from the maximum council tax rise. \u201cMaterial levels of additional budget reductions would need to be approved,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n Finch said such officers were expected to \u201cuse their professional opinion\u201d, but that it was the \u201ceasier\u201d option to implement a 5% council tax increase. \u201cIt\u2019s easier to go for 4.99% \u2026 we wouldn\u2019t have to change the whole environment of the council. We wouldn\u2019t have to look underneath the backs of the sofas.\u201d<\/p>\n Finch said he hoped to make savings through using AI and \u201ctransformation savings\u201d, but did not detail on how this would be done.<\/p>\n Finch said he had not anticipated the \u201cblockage\u201d he would face after the 2025 local elections. \u201cI had to learn very quickly \u2026 the elected members are not fully in control straight away,\u201d he said, adding that council workers and bureaucrats had caused \u201ca lot of blockage\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shutters were coming down,\u201d he said. \u201cThey realised straight away that George isn\u2019t going anywhere, Reform ain\u2019t going anywhere so they had to start working with us.\u201d<\/p>\n Councils have said repeatedly they are facing a dire financial situation, with many struggling to meet their legal duty to balance the books because of rising costs and demand. Most are expected to increase council tax by the maximum amount in April.<\/p>\n Reform UK swept to power in the local elections last year, gaining more than 600 seats, and pledged to scale back diversity and climate policies and tackle \u201cwaste\u201d and \u201cfraud\u201d through a initiative mirrored on Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficienc<\/a>y (Doge).<\/p>\n However, Finch said the party\u2019s national equivalent \u2013 their Department of Local Government Efficiency (Dolge), led by Reform\u2019s head of police, Zia Yusuf, was yet to visit Warwickshire council. Instead, the council launched a \u201cvalue for money\u201d programme, which the leader said he hoped would bring \u00a370m-\u00a3100m of savings over the next four to five years.<\/p>\n Challenged on what specific savings had been made at the council by Doge-style cuts, Finch described a \u00a31m investment fund to improve local roads and streets, the purchase of a \u201cfleet of buses and taxis\u201d for home-to-school transport for children with special needs, as well as savings in the procurement of contracts.<\/p>\n