Brighton and Hove City Council voted to put up council tax by 4.99 per cent last night (Thursday 27 February) as members backed a budget totalling about £1.1 billion for the coming financial year.
The 4.99 per cent includes 2 per cent to be ring-fenced for adult social care – the biggest single area of council spending.
Precepts from the Sussex police and crime commissioner and East Sussex Fire Authority take the average band D council tax bill to £2,455.79 – or almost £10 a month – up from £2,338.06
The cost of running day-today services in the coming year is expected to be about £880 million, with £198 million of the funding coming from council tax receipts.
The council’s capital investment programme for 2025-26 is £246 million, taking total spending to £1.1 billion.
The Labour deputy leader of the council, Jacob Taylor, said that the council had forecast a £36 million budget gap – the difference between how much it expected to spend and its revenues.
But the government’s autumn statement had reduced this hole in the budget to £16 million.
Councillor Taylor said: “Increases in funding as well as actions to address service pressures have reduced our published budget gap from £36 million to £16 million which is reflected in the budget we have before us today.
“This is a significantly improved position – and I am pleased that the Labour government seems to recognise the importance of local government and the need to provide more sustainable funding.
“I’m also pleased that they’ve announced a longer-term review of funding and that they are likely to provide medium-term settlements going forward.”
He hopes that the current financial year – to the end of next month – will finish with an underspend.
If so, the spare money would go towards short breaks and school holiday provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Councillor Taylor said that the i360 would cost council tax payers £2.2 million every year for the next 16 years.
He said: “That’s £2.2 million missing from our revenue budget versus what was promised – the Green Party tax that residents will have to pay for years to come.”
Council leader Bella Sankey said that in the coming year the council was looking to bring in park and ride, start restoring heritage lanterns on the seafront and continue work on Madeira Terraces.
Councillor Sankey said: “We will make road and pedestrian safety improvements. We will complete Hove Beach Park, draw up plans for a new leisure facility on the site of the King Alfred, draw up plans for a pool at Withdean and get going with Moulescoomb hub.
“We’ll launch our economic growth board, our exciting seafront development board and our opt-out scheme for weed maintenance. And we’ll develop our new City Plan to build the decent and affordable houses that thousands of our residents so desperately need.”
The Green leader of the opposition, Steve Davis, described the budget as having “more cuts – but with a different coloured axe”.
Councillor Davis said: “The average household will be £770 worse off, taking account of inflation, in 2029 than today, as earnings growth slows down and price rises, especially in housing, begin to bite.
“This government’s decision not to move up the thresholds at which different income tax rates are paid is also digging into earnings. Inequality will worsen, with the poorest 10 per cent seeing much bigger losses than the richest.
“And all the while our media headlines scream about immigration. Colleagues, there is only one minority group that threaten our way of life – and they are not arriving in boats. They are landing in private jets.”
Conservative leader Alistair McNair criticised the national government for slowing economic growth and criticised the effects of increased national insurance contributions for hurting businesses, charities and schools.
Councillor McNair said: “In November, Councillor Jacob Taylor was excited about the Labour budget. He described Labour as keeping its promise not to raise employee income tax.
“That may be true – but it has killed growth by hitting employers, employees, charities and schools with massive employer national insurance increases.
“How naïve not to think employer national insurance won’t hurt you and me, especially in a city like Brighton and Hove which is reliant on small businesses.”
Councillor McNair criticised Labour council cuts to the warm homes strategy “to save a measly £15,000”.
He also argued that money spent on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) could be used to fund libraries threatened with closure or cuts to their opening hours.
Fellow Conservative Anne Meadows said that money from the anti-racism strategy could be used instead to fund libraries and warm spaces because the council should know what racism was.
Councillor Meadows said: “We feel that cutting back on the libraries at the same time as cutting winter fuel allowances is short-sighted in the extreme.
“We need safe warm spaces for our elderly and families – and cutting back on family hubs, the warm homes strategy and attacking the young people’s youth-led grants is to turn your back on all families in some way.”
The Greens and Conservatives put forward a series of modest amendments to the budget but they were voted down.
The general fund, capital budget and housing revenue account budgets all passed.
“Not a penny more on your council tax” lied Starmer in opposition to win an election
Where’s the money coming from Dave?
Costed answers please – where the money should come from, where you’ll increase tax or where you’ll cut spending.
He didn’t say that at all.
He said there wouldn’t be any changes to the valuation bands or that there would be any change to the 4.99% limit before having to hold a referendum level (except in some specific circumstances for a limited number of councils)
Council tax has gone up by 4.99% for the majority of the years in the last decade. This is nothing new.
Would you be happier with the 13 -25% increases that other councils are doing? I think not so quit your whining
Fewer services for more money. You can’t trust new Labour
Exactly the same as under the Tories!
It is very well established John that councils across the country are getting less money in real terms.
Considering libraries, I always thought an interesting idea would be to use community centres as a space for access to literature and use a hub and spoke model with the flagship libraries.
Labour holds all the levers nationally and locally. In the short term they can, and are, blaming the Tories and Greens, but this won’t stick for long. Spin won’t work, only delivery. I hope our Labour councillors appreciate the chance they’ve been given with full overall control of the council (and country) and deliver.
I completely agree. Delivery is the most meaningful thing. As they say, words are cheap.