BCP Council set to increase council tax by 4.99 per cent

BCP Council has proposed to raise its council tax by 2.99 per cent in the financial year 2024/25 - in line with the government’s annual basic threshold.  

A further two per cent adult social care precept will also be added to the sum, taking the total tax up to 4.99 per cent – the maximum a local authority can impose without calling a referendum. 

The hike is the second year in a row BCP Council has raised council tax by 4.99 per cent when it rose under the last administration. 

It also means that a Band D council taxpayer who paid £1,683.23 in 2023/24 could  be paying £1,767.22 for the year from April - a rise of £83.99. 

In its budget plan for 2024/25, BCP Council has found £41m of further savings, efficiencies, and additional income generation required to correct the structural £30m deficit inherited from 2023/24. 

This, the authority has said, would set a legally balanced budget and provide the basis for a “more financially sustainable council moving forward”. 

A consultation was recently put out for residents in which a wave of spending cuts were proposed, including reduced manhours watching CCTV, stopping grass cutting, axing money to keep the three towns’ paddling pools going and even switching off street lights in parts of Poole. 

Several much-loved services are also being cut back, including the Kings Park Nursery and reducing funding for this year's air festival and stopping it completely next year.

Meanwhile, the council expects it will spend £29m more on special educational needs services in 2024/25 than the funding specifically being made available by government. 

The 2024/25 budget also proposes a freeze on all non-essential spending from April until assurances are given by the corporate management board that all £41m of this coming year's budget savings has been delivered.

For 2024/25, BCP Council will need to set aside an extra £12.4m for adult social care alone to cover the 9.8 per cent increase in the national living wage.

To do this, the council has warned extra income would have to be generated by a 5.08 per cent tax rise - not something that is possible without a referendum asking to go above five per cent.

BCP Council leader Vikki Slade said the authority has a legal obligation to support the vulnerable, keep the area clean and safe and maintain core infrastructure. 

But that ensuring these can continue, the council has had to make “some very difficult and painful choices”, she said. 

In a statement, Cllr Slade said: “Our budget approach has been focused on delivering value for money for residents and maintaining the council’s financial health and ongoing sustainability. The budget recognises that the council has previously been living beyond its means. 

“BCP Council is facing acute pressures caused by years of austerity, recent high inflation and the exceptional demand faced by all local authorities, and other public services, at this time.  

 “We have not shirked from making the tough decisions you see outlined in these plans and we have acted responsibly to balance the budget in a sustainable way over four years.” 

She added: “We know how tough these proposals will be for our residents to hear but we have no alternative.  

“We must deliver a budget that puts the council on a sustainable financial footing and avoids serious government interventions that we have seen in other parts of the country.” 

The council currently spends £309m each year on public services, but around two thirds of this money is spent on providing services for children and vulnerable adults.