English and Welsh authorities which have finalised their budgets have managed to keep their council tax rises below 5%, and avoid capping. The 4.5% average rise was revealed in a Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) survey. Although the rise is almost twice the rate of inflation, it ranks as the second-lowest in the past decade. Phillip Ramsdale, executive director of IPF, CIPFA's support services company, said although grant this year had ‘underwritten' service levels in education across England, councils were concerned about pressures on other services. CIPFA said the threat of a 5% cap set by the Government had helped keep budgets low. All councils must confirm their budget by the end of this week, with Wandsworth LBC expected to achieve the lowest rate once again. It was not included in the CIPFA list because it had not confirmed its budget at the time of the survey. The 13.3% hike in the London precept by London mayor ~Ken Livingstone~ has pushed six of the capital's boroughs over the 5% mark, despite them achieving rises below 5% within their own budgets.
