Staffordshire county council proposes 4.99 per cent tax hike

The proposed increase, which will equate to an extra £77 for a Band D property, will help Staffordshire County Council balance its budget, together with £18.4 million of savings.

But council leaders insist that ‘good financial management’ has left the authority in a better position than many others, some of which are facing the threat of bankruptcy. 

Proposed savings include reducing the spend on ‘very high cost’ children’s care placements by £2 million, and a review of extra care funding, which is expected to save £360,000 next year.

The county council’s draft budget for 2025/26, including the council tax increase, will be subject to consultation and scrutiny before being approved in February. 

Councillor Ian Parry, cabinet member for finance and resources, said the council’s ‘stable’ financial position meant it could continue investing in country parks and libraries, with £45 million being spent on highways over three years.

Cllr Parry said: “We’ve had a consistent approach to good financial management and good financial planning. Almost since the time we were first elected, we’ve been looking for those things which are potentially low-risk and address them when they are emerging – we don’t let things get out of hand, we get on top of stuff. It’s doing the difficult stuff but doing it early to avoid the pain.

“So most of the difficult stuff we have put behind us, and moving forward we’re in a much more stable position.

“In a time when virtually no councils have done this, we’ve found headroom to invest in supporting communities and people’s quality of life. We’re investing in libraries, investing in our countryside. It’s not just all about the mundane council services, it’s about trying to support our residents with things that add to the quality of life.”

The proposed council tax increase – the maximum allowed without a referendum –  will include a two per cent social care precept, with more than two thirds of the authority’s spending now going towards vulnerable children and adults. Staffordshire residents also pay council tax towards district councils and the police, crime and fire commissioner.

Cllr Parry added: “We’re very much aware of the impact on people’s pockets. But we are, I think, the fourth lowest council tax authority among the shire counties. We are one of the lowest and always have been. We strive to keep it as low as possible.”

Balancing the budget in 2025/26 will require the use of £9.845 million of reserves, previously agreed as part of the medium term financial strategy (MTFS), as well as £6.95 million from the health and care reserves.According to a cabinet report, the use of reserves in this way is ‘not sustainable’ beyond 2028/29, with ‘significant’ budget gaps expected towards the end of the five-year MTFS.

Cllr Parry said the county council was using its reserves to fund service transformation, with the aim of reducing costs in the long-term. He said: “We have earmarked reserves for specific targeted transitional stuff. So we’ve got a reserve to support our children’s services transformation, and there’s a reserve for adult social care. But overall our balances are good.

“What we will not do is draw down on balances for general revenue expenditure. We don’t be supporting deficits through use of reserves. We use reserves in a targeted way to help us through transformation exercises.”

Cabinet members will discuss the budget proposals when they meet on Wednesday, December 11.