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Cheshire West and Chester Council planning 5% tax increase

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A maximum council tax rise of almost 5% and spending cuts could be approved by Cheshire West and Chester Council, to help the authority plug a funding gap of £156m over the next four years.

The projected black hole represents 15% of the authority’s entire gross budget and the authority said part of it will be bridged in the coming financial year through £29m of cost savings, plus an extra £20m of additionally generated income.

The council plans to hike council tax by 4.99% which is the maximum allowed under current rules set by central government.

This includes a 2.99% basic council tax increase, plus an additional 2% to fund social care.

By law, anything which goes above this threshold would have to be agreed via a referendum of local voters.

The planned increase would translate to a council tax bill for residents in a Band D property of £1,978 a year – an increase of £1.81 per week from its current amount.

A draft report to councillors said there remained some “difficult choices to make” – including reviewing the overall size and shape of the council and potentially reviewing some discretionary services unless additional funding is found.

The report added that although some extra funding had been received from the government, it was not enough to plug the gap.

It added that the national outlook for local government finances remained bleak, with pressures on adult and children’s social care in particular presenting challenges to local authorities across the country.

Both Cheshire East Council and Halton Borough Council have recently written to the government for exceptional financial support to prevent them effectively going bust.

It was also revealed recently that Halton Borough Council was spending as much as £25m per year on providing care for 93 vulnerable children – as private providers charge the authority up to £15,000 per week, per child.

Cheshire West and Chester Council’s full budget for 2025/26 will need to be approved by its cabinet members on 12th February and then signed off by full council on 20th February.

 

 

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