Leicestershire County Council to increase council tax share by nearly five per cent

Leicestershire County Council is set to raise its share of council tax by nearly five per cent to balance its books.

The authority agreed a four year financial plan which will see a Band D property shelling out £1.39 a week to the authority - £1,525 per year. The authority says not raising council tax – which will include a two per cent adult social care levy - would 'drastically reduce money available for frontline services'.

The plan also includes an extra £57 million for help, such as home and residential care - at a full county council meeting on Wednesday (February 22).It will also result in a major capital investment of £509million, service cuts totalling £3 million, £59 million of efficiency savings and a 4.99 per cent council tax increase from April, to ensure the books will balance next year.An extra £1 million has also been earmarked to offset the impact of service cuts and boost road maintenance including £100,000 for community speed cameras.Council leader Nick Rushton said: “Protecting the vulnerable and hefty investment in support people depend on – that’s what our budget delivers.“Unforeseen global issues such as war in Ukraine and rising energy costs make balancing our books challenging. We’ve spent a lot of time on it and asking people to pay more has been a tough decision. Not doing so would drastically reduce the money we can spend on social care, fixing roads and other frontline services.”

The financial outlook, says the council, remains extremely tough with its budget gap set to rise to nearly £90 million by 2026.Growing service demand is set to increase costs by £70 million, with rising inflation forecast to add another £91million by 2026/27. On top of this, the National Living Wage increase drives up social care costs significantly, adding another £18 million.

Councillor Lee Breckon, cabinet member for resources said the council’s yearly budget of £512m had become a ‘complex balancing act’ and councillor allowances had been frozen as a result.

He intends to discuss the issue of Leicestershire as the lowest funded county with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt next month.