Council tax rise on its way as spending plans are approved
Council tax is set to rise again on Wearside after Sunderland City Council agreed spending plans for the coming year.
This week, councillors voted to approve a budget which includes a council tax rise of 2.99% from April.
This is made up of a 1.99% rise in core council tax and a 1% government levy earmarked for adult social care services in the city.
As part of the 2022/23 budget, the council needs to make savings of around £5.8million and also plans to use £5.430million of reserves to help balance the books.
Final council tax bills include charges levied on behalf of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority and the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner – with both ‘precepts’ increasing this year.
Those who live in the Hetton Town Council area will also pay a precept to the town council, which features as an extra amount on their council tax bill, however, no increases are proposed to the precept for 2022/23 which will remain at the same rate for the fourth successive year.
The council tax changes were part of a budget proposed by the council’s Labour Group at a meeting on Wednesday at City Hall.
Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said the budget would allow the council to continue with “ambitious social and economic regeneration plans” whilst “protecting and supporting those residents most in need”.
The council chief also insisted that the rise to household bills had been forced upon the council by the government and that more sustainable funding was needed for local government.
Cllr Miller told the meeting: “Raising council tax is not a decision we take lightly, especially in these unprecedented times.
“But if we don’t raise council tax now, we will need to identify service reductions and not continue with the investment in the development of our city.”
Councillors heard that the council tax increase represented an increase of 59p per week for a Band A property, into which the majority of households in Sunderland fall, or 89p per week for the average Band D property.
Cllr Miller added that Sunderland’s council tax rate would remain the lowest in Tyne and Wear and the wider North East region providing “strong value for money for our residents.”
Revenue budget proposals for 2022/23 include additional funding to support environmental services delivery, children’s and adult social care and investment in waste collection and recycling through reviewing the arrangements for replacement bins and bulky waste.
Funding is also being proposed to support the council’s capital investment proposals to support the delivery of the City Plan, with a programme of over £295m in 2022/23.
Some new projects include developing a business case for a multimillion-pound arena at the former Crowtree Leisure Centre site, the ongoing regeneration of the Sunniside district, improvements to city parks, and investment into leisure facilities and libraries.
Plans also cover funding for a Elemore Green Space and Social Enterprise development in Hetton, a replacement Coalfields Depot and provision of a Salt Barn and further investment for the South Hylton Day Centre project.
The Conservative Group proposed saving around £1.8m from the council’s dayto-day revenue budget by cutting special responsibility allowances for councillors, reducing the council’s communications and events budgets and abolishing councillors’ expenses, amongst other proposals.
The Liberal Democrats aimed to save around £1.7million from the council’s revenue budget by cutting the number of the council’s Area Committees from five to
three, reducing basic and special responsibility allowances for councillors, slashing the council’s corporate communications budget and removing a £1million budget for carbon reduction.
Amendments to Labour’s capital budget proposals were also submitted by both opposition groups.
The Conservatives proposed reducing the budget for the F-Pit redevelopment in Washington by £4.5million and redirecting the funding towards a range of localised projects and a new ‘gully cleaning vehicle’ for the city, as well as redirecting £1million towards city-wide road resurfacing, pothole and pavement repairs.
Meanwhile, the capital budget amendment from the Lib Dems aimed to reallocate around £10.6million from an existing budget pot to establish a working group to put together a five-year leisure investment strategy for Sunderland.
Councillor Antony Mullen, leader of the Conservative Group, said his group’s amendment provided a budget that was “balanced, fair and responsible, putting people before politics and was a preview of what a Conservative-led council would deliver after May”.
Councillor Niall Hodson, leader of the Wearside Liberal Democrats, said that raising council tax was a “political decision” and that the Lib Dem Group amendment aimed to “lessen the impact on residents’ pockets”.
Cllr Hodson also claimed that the Labour Group’s budget was “prioritising city centre regeneration projects over the household bills of residents.”
Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of the council, accused both opposition groups of “political posturing” over the budget and noted the impact of cuts to Sunderland City Council funding over the past decade.
Following debate, both opposition budget amendments failed to win support across the council chamber.
The Labour Group’s budget was eventually passed with 33 votes in support and 28 against.