Leicestershire County Council gives budget green light

"Taking tough decisions has stood us in good stead and means we’re not at crisis point."

Councillors have voted this afternoon in favour of Leicestershire County Council's four-year plan.

Part of budget includes a 4.99 per cent Council Tax rise from April – equating to £1.54 more a week for a band D house.

Reserves will be used to manage a small budget gap next year – by 2027, this gap is forecast to increase to £38m and rise to £91m by 2029.

Acting leader, Councillor Deborah Taylor, said: “Pressure on councils’ budgets continues to mount. And simply put, the cost of extra demand by far outweighs any increased income.

“We’re doing the best we can with the funding we have - and investing money to provide vital support, keep our roads moving and get communities back on their feet after the terrible New Year floods.

“The ‘extra’ money for councils that Government has announced so far doesn’t cover the impact of National Insurance and Living Wage rises, let alone shift the dial. It’s clear Government needs to tackle the big issues driving our costs head on.” 

This is the County Council's budget at a glance:

•             'The books balance for next year by using reserves to manage a small gap – with a budget gap of £38m in 2027, rising to £91m by 2029
•             £1m extra to support flood-hit communities - following the devastating flooding in the New Year, plus £500k until April
•             £95m more to support vulnerable people – in response to huge increase in demand
•             An increase on the current four-year capital programme of £28m to help fix potholes and repair roads - taking the total spend on roads and related infrastructure, major schemes and tackling flooding to £156m
•             A Council Tax rise of 4.99% from April – generating an extra £20m, which covers only the National Living Wage and National Insurance rises before any increased service demand is taken into account
•             £33m of savings – including redesigning services, reducing the cost of back-office support services by maximising digital technology and smarter procurement, plus £52m to bring spend on SEND more in line with Government funding
•             A £439m four-year capital pot – to fund one-costs of building roads, social care accommodation, new school places needed to support new housing, and more.'

Councillor Lee Breckon, cabinet member for resources, said: “Taking tough decisions has stood us in good stead and means we’re not at crisis point.

“We’re lean, high-performing and low funded, but need change to enable us to keep on delivering the services we know our residents value.

“No one wants to increase Council Tax but without it, we’d have to make £20m more savings next year, and consultation feedback showed good support for our proposals.”