As the cost of living crisis continues to bite, household finances are set for a further blow as Rutland council issues its draft budget for April 23 and a proposed increase to council tax by nearly 5%. As with many local residents, and indeed most other local councils, RCC have been deeply affected by recent rises in costs, including fuel and inflation. In order to balance the books, they say a combination of savings, cuts and tax increases are required.
Rutland’s council tax is set to rise by a total of 4.99% from April, including 2% for adult social care. This rise comes despite the council identifying savings of nearly £5m and using some of its reserves to plug the gap in finances. The council has already made savings of £12m over the past ten years, but with inflation at 10%, increased demand on services and energy prices at an all time high, RCC say that it will cost over £6m more to deliver the same level of local services compared to last year.
The cost of placing vulnerable residents in care beds has almost doubled; it cost £44m to run council services in Rutland last year, this year it is estimated that it will be around £46.5m; the £2.5m increase has been offset by approximately £3.6m in other savings and investment returns.
A draft budget will be presented to cabinet on Thursday and Rutlanders will be able to have their say from Friday 13th January to Friday 03rd February. The proposed council tax increase will mean a rise of just under £8 per month for a Band D property. An extra £33k of council tax support has been made available to help anyone on a low income.
The council says that if they had taken the easier option of using more of their reserves to implement a much more popular tax freeze this year, it would risk bankruptcy in the longer term.
While the proposed tax increases will, no doubt, be a further blow to household budgets already stretched thin by the cost of living crisis, they should not come as a surprise. In his Autumn budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt acknowledged the probable financial woes of local councils and changed the amount they were able to increase tax by without resorting to referendum – from 2.99% to 4.99%. Rutland typically has one of the highest council tax bills in the country, however, for the first time since Council Tax was introduced, the average council tax bill across England is expected to rise above £2000, this year, for a typical Band D property.
For more information about the budget proposals and the residents’ consultation, please click here: Council prepares to consult on ‘critical’ proposals for next annual budget | Rutland County Council
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