Cambs Council tax rise will make a 'difference for families'
The council has agreed a rise of nearly 5%
Last updated 14th Feb 2024
The leader of Cambridgeshire County Council says a tax increase will enable investments which will “make a difference for families in Cambridgeshire”.
A maximum council tax increase of 4.99% has been agreed, with a promise made to spend more money on improving the county’s roads.
The tax hike will reportedly raise £17.5million.
Two-per cent of the increase is dedicated towards funding adult social care services.
The council tax increase will see people living in a Band D household pay £76.95 more a year to the authority.
The county council said it is proposing to spend £57 million on sustaining critical adults and children’s social care, and that it will invest £23 million into improving the county’s roads and pavements.
The authority also said it will spend £3 million on continuing the school holiday food vouchers for families on low incomes.
While the vouchers will continue the amount families receive is due to be reduced from £180 to £135, however, Councillor Bryony Goodliffe (Labour), chair of the children and young people committee, said without the county council investment families would receive nothing.
The authority said it was also proposing to spend £2.2million on anti-poverty initiatives.
The leader of the county council, Councillor Lucy Nethsingha (Liberal Democrat) said: “This has been the most challenging budget round I have faced as leader of this council."
“Across the country councils have had to issue Section 114 notices, those are notices warning that the council may not be able to set a balanced budget, at an unprecedented scale.
“There has been a debate between representatives of local and national government about the cause of the crisis in individual councils, but it is hard to avoid the conclusion that after 10 years of relentless cuts local government has reached the point where there is no more surplus in the system.
“All councils are only a year or two away from not being able to set a balanced budget and, as with households that are on the edge, it would only take a small thing to send any council finances over the precipice of rising debt charges and the inability to provide core statutory services.
“For councils the highest risks right now are in the shockingly high costs of children’s social care placements with costs for urgent places at record levels.
“It only takes one of two high cost young people to come into the system beyond expectations to set our budget significantly off track.”
Cllr Nethsingha said the authority was also planning to “pick up the costs” of funding the school holiday food vouchers scheme after she said it had been “made clear” the government household support fund would be cut.
Councillor Alex Beckett (Liberal Democrat), chair of the highways and transport committee, said while the proposed investment in highways would not be enough to “reverse decades of managed decline” he said it would enable “active improvement”.
Councillor David Connor (Conservative) said the joint administration had three years in charge and said the “roads were worse than ever”.
Councillor Jonas King (Independent) said people were “tired of funding this council’s mistakes” and said if they agreed to the council tax increase people needed “to see some results”.
The budget and council tax increase was ultimately approved after being supported by a majority of councillors.