Leicestershire County Council propose to increase Council Tax next year
“While not currently in a crisis, Leicestershire County Council acknowledges the imperative to address the 20% disparity between expenditure and income, necessitating innovative service delivery. The council recently unveiled its four-year budget proposal, encompassing a three percent increase in Council Tax and an additional two percent for the adult social care precept.
Citing escalating social care costs, rising service demand, and inflation, the council anticipates utilizing up to £12 million from reserves to achieve financial equilibrium in the coming year. Declan Keegan, the council’s director of corporate resources, emphasized the unprecedented budget challenges faced by local authorities, stressing the need to adapt service delivery methods to bridge the substantial fiscal gap.
Keegan expressed concern over the austere financial landscape following the government’s autumn statement, citing the absence of supplementary funding and highlighting the significant impact of the national living wage hike, which alone contributes an additional £20 million to the council’s expenses.
While striving to enhance financial controls and ensure they are not subsidizing external services, the council acknowledged that relying on reserves to meet financial obligations is unsustainable. The proposed three percent increase in Council Tax for core services is expected to generate £11 million for frontline services, with an additional £7 million anticipated from the two percent rise in the adult social care precept.
To provide perspective, a three percent Council Tax increase for a Band D home translates to 88p per week for core services, while the two percent rise for adult social care amounts to 48p per week. Looking ahead, Leicestershire County Council foresees a budget gap potentially reaching £85 million by 2028.
The comprehensive four-year budget plan allocates an additional £127 million to support vulnerable populations and envisages service redesigns to manage future demand. Acknowledging the challenging financial scenario, the council anticipates a potential reduction of around 200 positions over the next four years, emphasizing that staff turnover and vacancy management strategies will mitigate the need for compulsory redundancies. The council’s cabinet is scheduled to deliberate on the proposed plan on Tuesday, December 19th.”
