Council tax in Haringey will be frozen for a fifth year running, with Labour pledging no increase for the next four years if they remain in power.

The freeze was approved at last night’s budget meeting, with councillors also voting in favour of a raft of other additions to this year’s financial plans.

Included in the budget are plans to give every child £20 towards a savings account when they begin secondary school.

A team of six police officers will also be hired to support the safer neighbourhood teams, with an initial focus on burglary hot spots Harringay Passage, Turnpike Lane and Muswell Hill.

The authority will have £13.5million to spend on new housing, while members also approved a nine-fold increase to investment in roads and pavements on the previous year.

The budget news came after Labour yesterday made the landmark pledge to keep council tax levels as they are until at least 2018 – becoming the first authority in the country to commit to such a long-term freeze.

Council leader Councillor Claire Kober said she wanted to help struggling families by offering some "financial certainty”, though the opposition Liberal Democrat group warned voters to be sceptical.

Cllr Joe Goldberg, cabinet member for finance, said: “This budget underlines that we are listening and are here for all the residents of our borough.

“We’re addressing the concerns and needs that we’re hearing from residents, whether from Fortis Green, Stroud Green or Tottenham Green.

“People are well aware of the depth of cuts being made to our budgets by central government but people don’t want to see a fall in the quality of their public services, closure of their libraries, deterioration of their parks and high streets.

“We are only too aware that people are being hit by the cost of living crisis that has seen Haringey residents facing the third highest real wage cuts in the country.

“That’s why I’m proud that we’ve been able to present a budget that helps our high streets grow, puts police on our streets, protects our parks, keeps our libraries open, improves our schools, and helps our borough to grow.

“We’re going to be able to do all this while at the same time freezing council tax for an unprecedented fifth year.”

The Haringey Independent has requested a comment from the opposition Liberal Democrats on last night’s meeting.