Liverpool council tax could rise by 5% again
Proposals are being considered for a 4.99% increase in the household bill to help plug a huge financial shortfall.
Talks are underway about another rise in council tax for Liverpool, as councillors seek to meet ongoing budget challenges.
Liverpool City Council cabinet members are to recommend the maximum increase available to them – 4.99% – in a bid to ease pressure on the council coffers. If it's approved, it will be the second year in a row that rates have been raised at the maximum level.
The local authority has set out its proposals for the next financial year, with a series of savings still to be made. The next 12 months marks the second of a three year process to close a financial black hole of £85m.
Despite more than half of that shortfall being delivered in the current financial year, Liverpool Council is still seeking to make tens of millions of pounds in savings this year. As a result, the city’s cabinet is expected to sign off on plans to recommend the full authority backs proposals to raise council tax by almost 5%.
Local authorities are required to seek approval via a referendum for council tax increases at or above a specified threshold, this was set at 5% for 2024/25. The majority of this can be used for any services, with an additional 2% solely to address the continuing adult social care pressures.
It is thought this would generate more than £4m for Liverpool Council. An increase of 4.99% in 2024/25 would equate to an additional £64.81 per year or £1.25 per week for a Band A property. For a band B property, it would equate to £75.60 per year – £1.45 per week.
In outlining why the council would seek to raise the rates for households, financial officers wrote: “This has been hugely challenging, at a time when the council like all other local authorities is facing significant financial challenges in the current year. The unrest in Ukraine and more recently the Middle East has contributed to the cost-of-living crisis driven by high inflation impacting on the costs of goods and services including energy and fuel.
“All of which not only makes the cost of running council services more expensive but also affects many residents and results in a greater demand on council services, particularly adults and children’s social care and homelessness. Added to this the council’s spending power has not kept pace with demand, wage and price rises that it is contending with.
“Like last year, this means that the council will need to make difficult decisions in planning the delivery of local services.”
The cabinet budget plans will be considered first by an extraordinary meeting of the authority’s finance and resources scrutiny committee on Thursday, before adoption when the executive meets on Tuesday February 20. This will then go forward to a special budget meeting of the full council next month