Brighton is to have a year-round night shelter for rough sleepers, if a funding proposal by the council’s ruling Labour group wins approval.
Labour council leader Daniel Yates said that £250,000 would be spent on the plans, subject to a vote later this month.
The all-year round night shelter would be in addition to the winter night shelter at the Brighton Centre and the severe weather night shelter, known as the SWEP, at nearby Wagner Hall.
Councillor Yates said that extra cash had also been found to protect service to help people affected by domestic violence.
A saving of £50,000 had been proposed when the 2019-20 budget proposals for Brighton and Hove City Council were originally published
The council leader said that the proposed saving had been withdrawn from the council’s draft budget.
And £75,000 would go towards developing a local “cycling and walking infrastructure plan to support necessary projects, improve the network and promote active travel”.
All the proposals are due to be debated on Thursday 28 February at the annual budget meeting at Hove Town Hall.
Before then, a committee of senior councillors – the Policy, Resources and Growth Committee – is expected to discuss the revised budget proposals. The committee is scheduled to meet at Hove Town Hall on Thursday 14 February.
The council said: “The proposals include an update on the financial position now more information is available about the year-end finances and the local government settlement (from the government) is confirmed.”
Councillor Yates said: “We’re in a strong financial position at the end of our four-year budget cycle. We can now improve on our initial budget proposals and provide more for the city.
“There is an additional £375,000 in these proposals due to careful financial management.
“We’ve planned further ahead than many other councils around the country and we’ve been able to protect more services than elsewhere as a result.
“We’re taking a compassionate approach to the needs of the city during this uncertain economic time and we will continue to do so.”
When the budget is set, council tax in Brighton and Hove is expected to rise by 2.99 per cent. This is the highest rise that the council is able to impose for 2019-20 without the need for a local referendum.
The bill for a band D home is expected to go up almost £54 a year from April – or just over £1 a week – from £1,805.98 to £1859.98.
Councillor Yates blamed the need for the increase on continuing cuts to the government grants that previously paid for much of the work carried out by councils.
He said that the council would receive just over £14 million in “revenue support grant” – down about £7 million since last year and by an estimated £40 million in four years.
Over that four-year period the council has had to make savings or find extra money to make up a £111 million shortfall caused by a rising demand for services, higher costs and loss of income.
Great news. I hope people aren’t too busy complaining about the tax increase the council has no choice but to implement to offset the huge cuts to local councils by central government. We need services and they have to be funded. If you don’t like council tax increases, please direct the blame at central government, which has just announced even more funding cuts to local councils (hitting Labour councils the hardest so they can use such council tax increases against them).
Does that mean lots. Of funding will come the Councils way after May?