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Executive members of our council met last week (Wednesday 5 February) to review plans for the 2025/26 budget amid a worsening three-year budget forecast.
They approved plans for a proposed council tax increase of 2.99 per cent and adult social care precept of 2 per cent (funding which specifically supports adult social care services) – for a total increase of 4.99 per cent.
This means the council tax increase on an average Band D property would be £85.25 for the year, or £1.64 per week.
It also means our share of council tax remains the second lowest in the region.
These proposals will be voted on by all members at the Full Council meeting on Tuesday (18 February).
Stream or watch the recording of this meeting on our YouTube channel.
Like many councils across the country, demand and cost for services has increased significantly - particularly for children in care, people with special educational needs and disabilities, and meeting the care needs of older and vulnerable adults.
Income from central government has also reduced during this time.
In 2014/15, 25 per cent of our income came from government funding but this had more than halved to 12 per cent in 2024/25.
As a result, we’re proposing savings and service cuts of more than £44m over the next three years, with more than £20m for next year alone.
We’ve worked extremely hard to balance the budget, by reducing costs, generating more income, changing the way contracts are commissioned, looking at how services are delivered, transforming services and, in some cases, reducing services.
However, spending at higher levels is forecast to continue into future years.
The current forecast budget gap for the next three years stands at £10.047m, partly due to increased spending on frontline services and using £9.1m of one-off reserve funding to balance the budget for next year.
Although this means we can continue to deliver vital statutory services to those most in need, it’s not sustainable for the longer-term.
This means further solutions and savings plans will need to be identified in the years ahead.
We’re continuing to urge the government to better and fairly fund local councils across the country so please sign our Fair Deal petition if you haven’t already.
We’ve shared our budget plans widely so thank you to everyone who took part and helped shape our thinking around continuing difficult and challenging decisions.
Council tax bills for 2025/26 will be sent out in March.
Sign up to e-billing to view and download your bill online.