COUNTY council leaders are to have an urgent meeting with government ministers over fears that Surrey's council tax payers will have to pick up an extra £5 million bill thanks to an error made by Whitehall. The news comes after the government again delayed its announcement over the amount of cash it will hand out to councils and the emergency services to help meet the cost of providing essential services. The figures were expected to be announced this week but councils have been sent a letter from the government informing them that the announcement has been delayed until next week to give it more time to calculate the financial settlements. However, the county council's leader Nick Skellett, is insisting that residents should not be made to pay for bungled government calculations when he attends the top-level meeting with Local Government Minister Nick Raynsford. Mr Raynsford has recently announced his intention to take around £50 million in funding away from county councils across the country in order to correct a government mistake made last year – which arose through a miscalculation of how many people lived in certain areas of the UK. The result meant areas such as Westminster and Manchester are now owed millions of pounds by the government after being underfunded – and ministers have said they will take the money from other council grants to make up for their error. Surrey County Council claims that the shortfall will mean a loss to Surrey – already the lowest-funded county per capita in England and Wales – of almost £5 million when the government finally announces council grants. It also says that it will have an undoubted effect on council tax levels, and is the equivalent to the annual cost of looking after 500 elderly people in the county, or an immediate one per cent on top of whatever tax level is set for next year. "Why should Surrey taxpayers be forced to pay extra in order to correct a mistake made by government ministers?" Mr Skellett asked. "What we are talking about here is a simple calculation error, made nationally at Westminster by people who have nothing to do with Surrey – yet now our taxpayers are being told to stump up the money to correct it from their council taxes. "The outcome will be simple – if we keep tax rises to the lowest possible rate, and have to make up this £5 million mistake, we may not be able to fund schools at the required rate for the first time in history. "This itself is a sign of how serious the situation is. "We are already facing massive financial pressures thanks to the continued cut in grant Surrey has received over the past three years, and I will make no bones about it when I meet with Mr Raynsford. "I will be insisting that Surrey taxpayers are not made to pick up the bill for this embarrassing error – to suggest so is nothing short of outrageous, and we must tackle this head on if we are to ensure the best deal for residents. "I will of course inform residents of the outcome in due course." The Tory-run council, whose precept makes up the largest proportion of the overall council tax bill, is looking at cost-cutting measures thanks to an already projected £30 million shortfall in funding - with a possible precept rise of between seven and nine per cent on the cards. However, it is already working through a £40 million savings package whereby all non-essential services are being cut to minimum levels, while frontline services remain protected from cuts wherever possible. Next year's county council election may also have a bearing too, with the Conservatives looking to keep the council tax as low as possible. However, the opposition Liberal Democrats have criticised the Conservative administration for seeking to put all the blame for a potentially high council tax for next year on the government, without recognising that it has had opportunities over many years to review how the budget is spent. Lib Dem leader Hazel Watson challenged the administration to explain why it has failed to carry out a detailed review of spending during the previous seven years. "I do not believe that it is accurate to place the whole blame for the council's financial position at the door of the government," she said. "The Liberal Democrats have put forward constructive proposals for making savings without cutting services. These include improving the energy efficiency of council buildings, reducing the millions of pounds spent on consultants and improving the monitoring of the council's contracts. "Unfortunately, the Conservative administration has been slow to act and the result is that Surrey's residents will suffer by either paying higher council tax or having to cope with cuts in services." • The average council tax bill in Haslemere for the current financial year is £1,191.14.
