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Tories: 'Town hall pensions cost every household £281 a year'
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Town hall pensions are costing every household in England and
Wales £281 a year - the equivalent of a quarter of their
council tax bill, the Conservatives said.
Shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman highlighted official
figures showing the Local Government Pension Scheme - which
excludes teachers, firefighters and police - cost councils
£5.4 billion in 2008/09.
The figure was almost £400 million up on the previous year's
£5.09 billion - an increase of 8% - and was more than four
times the £1.52 billion cost when Labour came to power in
1997/98.
Analysis by the Conservatives found the yearly cost is now
equivalent to £281 for each council tax-paying household in
England and Wales, compared to an average council tax bill of
£1,175.
Ms Spelman said: "Town hall pensions are now costing every
taxpaying household almost £300 a year - equivalent to a
quarter of everyone's council tax bill going on pension costs,
rather than emptying bins or cleaning streets.
"Local taxpayers simply cannot afford to foot an ever-growing bill.
Under Labour, people are paying more and getting less."
bstownroe
Commented 21 weeks ago
....and for every £1 of tax payers' money that supports the pensions of millions of often low paid workers in the public sector, £2.50 goes to support the tax relief on the pensions of the rather better off.....
I see that 'we're all in this together' has its limits for the Tories. What staggering hypocrisy!