Budget approved with £40m investment

3:50pm - 16 February 2022
two pairs of hands holding a plant together

An extra £40m will be invested in long-term projects in North Somerset after the budget for the next financial year was approved by councillors on Tuesday.

It’s a budget that will protect vital council services while also investing an extra £40m in long-term projects to improve service for children, green initiatives and local facilities.

Our key priorities are:

  • backing our children and young people
  • delivering better basic services
  • investing in our communities
  • tackling the climate emergency.

The £40m investment is on top of the £300m already committed for long-term investment in local projects.

This means you’ll continue to get good services with protection for key services like social care, recycling and waste and roads and pavement maintenance.

Local people are being protected from the impact of cuts, with increases in fees and charges being kept to a minimum.

The past two years have been incredibly hard for everyone and as we emerge from the pandemic, we want North Somerset to thrive.

North Somerset Council 2022 budget approved

Council tax increase

Council tax will increase by 2.99 per cent in the next financial year for our share of the bill.

This increase is driven by social care pressures and won’t even cover the gap in costs to provide these services.

It includes a one per cent increase specifically to support adult social care services. Almost every council in the country will be increasing council tax at this rate.

Increasing council tax is not something we do lightly. We’re aware of the pressures everyone is facing to the cost of living. We’re not immune to cost pressures either and have worked hard to mitigate impacts on services and household budgets.

Earlier this month, the government announced that properties in council tax bands A to D will receive a £150 payment to support increasing energy bills.

We’re expecting more advice about how this will be handled. When council tax bills are sent out in March, they will not reflect the reduced amount for affected properties.

When we have more guidance from the government, we’ll let you know. Follow our social media feeds on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

You can watch the full recording of the meeting on our YouTube channel.