One bill or two? Seven paths for Wandsworth's council tax

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One bill or two? Seven paths for Wandsworth's council tax

Tick the paths to compare. Solid lines are what happened; dashed lines are projections. The grey band is the council's own £76m "minimal" reserves level. Below zero the law requires a Section 114 notice.

Savings actually delivered 100% Pay the £48.8m invest-to-save from reserves, as the report's text says If the government paid full 95% protection, use it to lower the bill rather than bank it Show bills per month (10 instalments)

Usable reserves, £m, at the end of each financial year

Band D bill, £ a year: the council's share plus the Mayor of London's share (the Mayor's share is held at £510.51 from 2027/28)

What each path assumes.

Labour, February budget: 4.99% a year and the £45m of savings the budget assumed, gaps met from reserves; this reproduces the dotted "Previous" line on page 40 of the council's September report, then continues on the September gap figures (Paper 26-63, paras 44 to 54, Appendix D).
Labour on today's numbers, savings identified: the same 4.99% a year with the £7m of savings Cllr Graham said had been identified by May 2026; nobody has published a fuller Labour plan and Cllr Hogg has not supplied costings when asked.
The council's plan: the council's share to £1,468 in April 2027, then frozen; savings of £27m, £43m, £69m and £79m (Final Report p8, p39, p40).
Two steps, then 5%: half the rise in April 2027, the rest in 2028, then 4.99% a year once the referendum limit returns; our construction.
Government honours 95% without the £150: the council's plan, plus the protection the government would pay if it did not assume the extra rises: about £27m in 2027/28 and £47m in 2028/29 (government response to the Fair Funding Review, 20 Nov 2025, section 9.4; Wandsworth Initial Report, July 2026, p7).
Government removes remaining protection: the council's plan less the £8m and £7m still paid (Final Report p8).
Government spreads the cut; council phases the rise: the £84m cut reached in 2031 instead of 2029 and the bill rising in four equal steps to the same point; assumes the referendum limit stays lifted throughout, which the government has not offered. Our construction.

Common to all: tax base 147,999 Band D equivalents growing 1.7% a year; collection 97%; £1m of gap is £6.76 on a Band D bill. Reserves history from the council's own chart (Final Report p40); bills history from MHCLG's Band D live table. Sources: Wandsworth Council Spending Review Final Report (Sept 2026) and Initial Report (July 2026); Paper 26-63 (Feb 2026); MHCLG Fair Funding Review 2.0 government response (Nov 2025); MHCLG council tax live tables (Mar 2026). Model by Putney.news, 19 Sept 2026.