Walsall Council helping residents with cost-of-living by rejecting Government's proposed 5% tax increase
They have decided to only increase council tax by 2.99%
Walsall Council have decided to only increase council tax by 2.99%, after rejecting hiking it by 4.99%, as permitted by the Government, because of the cost-of-living.
After consulting with residents, the Cabinet decided not to implement the Adult Social Care Precept of an additional 2%, which would have increased council tax to 4.99%.
This budget details significant investment of £48.7 million of revenue growth and investment going into council services in 2023-24. This includes:
- £26.8 million of demand, demographic and price changes within children’s and adult social care.
- £4.1 million of other services demand and cost pressures, including fall out of external funding, reductions in fees and charges income, and investment in IT infrastructure.
- £15.6 million of corporate provisions to cover the costs of pay awards and pension auto-enrolment, capital investment to fund regeneration projects within the Borough, cost of living inflationary costs such as energy, fuel and other supplies and services costs.
- £2.2 million of investment linked to delivering the Council’s Proud transformation activity.
The budget also sets some £15.7 million of savings and efficiencies for 2023-24, delivered through changing and improving the Council’s ways of working methods. This includes increasing the use of technology and digitalisation to reduce costs.
Councillor Mike Bird, Leader of Walsall Council, said, “This budget reflects the views of our residents and as a Council we have prioritised areas that reflect the current cost of living crisis. Our decision not to take the option to raise Council Tax by a further 2% has been approved and I hope this goes some way to help ease the struggles that our residents are facing.
“At a time when the Council is facing increasing financial pressures, we’re seeing increasing demand for our services alongside rising inflation and energy bills, and only limited certainty over funding. While the financial situation remains challenging, we now have a balanced budget with significant levels of investment in services and regeneration within the Borough.
“The recent award of £20 million from the Levelling Up Fund for the development of Willenhall Garden City is positive news and I look forward to seeing lots of exciting plans come to fruition.”