Calderdale Council has announced its budget proposals for the next financial year with council tax and price rises on the way.
The council said its priorities would be to protect local services and to balance the books after its budget proposals for 2025-2026 were brought by the Council Leader before a cabinet meeting on January 13. A one year financial settlement has been brought by the government this year, with the promise of a better settlement for councils in the future.
This draft Local Governance Finance Settlement provided an increase of 7.4% in funding, but this does not meet the full needs of Calderdale Council.
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The council is legally required to set a balanced budget each year and is facing budget deficits of £3 million in 2025-2026, £4.2 million by 2026-2027 and £6.1 million in 2027-2028.
As a result, the council has proposed to include an increase in council tax of 4.99%, including the 2% social care precept which is used to fund and protect social care for adults and children. These increases are already expected of the council by the government and are factored in when it calculates the financial settlement.
According to Calderdale Council, 70% of their total budget is now spent on adult and children’s health and social care. This is amid a rise in demand for these services, particularly from those with long-term health conditions and disabilities as well as from children requiring education, health and care plans.
Inflation has also served to increase the costs on all services.
Calderdale Council also outline four additional proposals to save costs. These are:
- Reducing adult social care package assessments by reviewing the level of social care need, recognising the changes in contribution from the NHS, reducing duplication across partners and targeting prevention to reduce and delay future need.
- Reviewing in-house mental health provision to reduce the non-statutory work currently delivered by the Council.
- Increasing the price of garden and bulky waste collection to reflect the increased cost of operating the service since the last review in 2018.
- Moving to a digital first strategy to create savings through better use of technology.
The leader of Calderdale Council, Councillor Jane Scullion, said: “We are proud of our record of robust financial management and low borrowing during some incredibly challenging financial times.
“These will not change overnight, and we will have to continue to make difficult decisions so that we can set a sustainable budget. We have included in this year’s proposals, plans which will allow us to strengthen our resilience by starting to replenish our reserves so that we can protect the services our communities depend upon now and into the future.
“And we are ambitious for Calderdale. We continue to perform well when compared to similar councils; Ofsted has judged our Children’s Services as Good across all areas; and we have fully adopted the Local Plan which will stand us in good stead in meeting future housing targets.”
You can have your say on Calderdale’s budget proposals by completing an online survey here. You can also download the form available here and email it to budget@calderdale.gov.uk or post it to Budget Consultation, Town Hall, Halifax, HX1 1UJ.