Tax hike to plug £33m black hole
Pandemic has increased ‘spending pressures’ on county council
RESIDENTS in Staffordshire face a 4.99 per cent tax hike next year to help plug a council budget gap of more than £30 million.
Staffordshire County Council’s draft budget for 2021/22 includes a 1.99 per cent council tax increase, together with the maximum three per cent social care precept.
It equates to an extra £64.67 for a Band D property, or £1.24 a week.
This is expected to generate an additional £18.5 million for the council, helping it address £33 million of spending pressures and achieve a balanced budget.
No major new cuts to services have been announced – thanks in part to extra Government funding and the controversial public sector pay freeze.
But finance officers admit there is a ‘huge level of uncertainty’ in the budget, due to the pandemic and its impact on council tax and business rates income.
More Government support may be needed on top of the £80 million already announced.
The council is also facing ever increasing demand for social care, with a record £346.2 million set to be spent on services for vulnerable adults and children next year.
Council leader Alan White, below, insists the authority is in a good position to face these challenges due to it being a ‘well-run’ organisation.
But he acknowledged that the council tax hike would be coming at a difficult time for residents.
Mr White said: “I think many people appreciate the work we’ve done and recognise the investments we’ve made.
“A good example has been our expenditure on PPE. We got that out fast to support businesses, and provided support to the clinically extremely vulnerable.
“I understand the difficulty. But what we try to do is make sure our services are as efficient as possible.”
Around two-thirds of the council’s budget next year will be spent on social care services, which face increasing demands due to the ageing population.
The Government has increased Staffordshire’s social care support grant by £4.4 million to £25.2 million, as well as allowing authorities to raise more locally through the three per cent council tax precept.
But Mr White said he was expecting ministers to come up with a long-term solution to social care funding, as well as the full implementation of the business rates retention scheme.
The budget report, which will go before cabinet on January 6, acknowledges risks which may affect council finances in 2021/22, largely due to Covid-19.
In the current year, a number of planned savings have not been delivered, including a review of children’s social care, which was expected to save £6.4 million.
The council has been allocated £16.2 million of additional Covid funding for next year, but the report says that this ‘may not cover all additional costs faced’.
Mr White said the council also planned to continue investing in areas such as roads, schools and broadband in 2021/22.
Previously announced savings proposals, including work to increase the availability of affordable adult care provision and efforts to keep troubled youngsters out of the care system, will continue in 2021/22.