A new table comparing council tax levels across London reveals Wandsworth has the lowest bills and is the one of only three boroughs to set the levy below £1000. The other two councils are Westminster and the City of London Corporation.

Wandsworth’s bill for a typical Band D property has been frozen at £682 for the second year running - the lowest council tax rate in the UK. The table shows that the average Band D tax rate across London’s 33 boroughs will rise to £1,308 in April - £626 above Wandsworth’s.

In neighbouring Kingston the council will charge £1,631. This means households across the border in Wandsworth will be £949 better off in 2009/2010. Other next-door boroughs include Richmond where Band D bills have been set at £1,597, and Merton where households will pay £1,432.

Deputy Leader of the council Maurice Heaster (pictured left) said, "Now more than ever we are determined to protect our residents from high taxation. For those households feeling the effects of the recession it’s a real lifeline. We have always kept a tight handle on spending here and our residents pocket the benefits.

"The Audit Commission’s plaudits confirm that high quality services do not require high taxes. With seven consecutive years of the highest possible inspection scores and the country’s lowest tax rate we have a value for money record that no other authority can match."

Details of council tax bills in all 33 London boroughs for 2009/2010 are set out below.

Local authority	Average 2009-10	Increase in
	council tax	council tax
	for the	for the
	authority	authority
	(Band D)	(Band D)
	£	%
INNER LONDON
City of London	857.31	2.00%
Camden	1,021.76	0.00%
Greenwich	981.03	0.00%
Hackney	998.45	0.00%
Hammersmith & Fulham	836.89	-3.00%
Islington	961.87	2.50%
Kensington & Chelsea	782.45	3.21%
Lambeth	925.29	0.00%
Lewisham	1,042.11	2.50%
Southwark	912.14	0.00%
Tower Hamlets	885.52	2.30%
Wandsworth	377.25	0.00%
Westminster	378.02	0.01%
OUTER LONDON
Barking & Dagenham	1,016.40	0.00%
Barnet	1,113.20	2.81%
Bexley	1,117.18	2.54%
Brent	1,058.94	2.50%
Bromley	979.16	2.71%
Croydon	1,137.89	3.84%
Ealing	1,059.93	0.00%
Enfield	1,100.34	2.48%
Haringey	1,184.32	1.95%
Harrow	1,186.55	2.95%
Havering	1,201.18	2.39%
Hillingdon	1,112.93	0.00%
Hounslow	1,090.65	0.00%
Kingston-upon-Thames	1,320.96	3.99%
Merton	1,122.34	2.51%
Newham	945.63	0.00%
Redbridge	1,095.53	2.74%
Richmond-upon-Thames	1,287.39	4.33%
Sutton	1,140.89	2.90%
Waltham Forest	1,152.21	1.90%
Greater London Authority	309.82	0.00%
London Average	998.85	1.69%
London Average (excl City)	999.13	1.68%
Inner London Average (incl City)	808.57	0.69%
Inner London Average (excl City)	808.31	0.68%
Outer London Average	1,116.34	2.20%

All figures include the Mayor of London's precept which was frozen this year at to £310.

To see details of all 33 London borough’s council tax levels over the last five years visit www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/localgovernmentfinance/counciltaxmonitor

To view the council’s full Audit Commission assessment visit www.audit-commission.gov.