Rotherham Council hit by big fall in business rates following collapse of Speciality Steels
The local authority is now looking at raising council tax by 3%
Last updated 5th Nov 2025
The collapse of Speciality Steel has delivered a major blow to Rotherham Council’s business rates income, forcing a £4.23m write-off and dragging the borough’s in-year collection rate down to 93.96 per cent – the lowest among the 36 metropolitan councils, a new budget report shows.
The council’s share of the write-off is £2.074m, with 50 per cent falling to government and one per cent to South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue. Officers say that without the steel debt, Rotherham’s business rates collection would have been 97.33 per cent and ranked 13th instead of last.
RMBC’s medium term financial strategy update, set to be presented to the council’s overview and scrutiny committee next week, assumes that council tax could increase by three per cent next spring, with a further increase of two per cent for fees and charges.
The finance report also forecasts an overspend of £900,000 this year, due to social care demand, waste service changes and income pressures in markets and country parks.
However, the report states that the council aims to balance the books without dipping into reserves.
The report anticipates a £20m increase in base government funding by 2028/29 under the government’s Fair Funding Review, tapered in over three years.
The report will go before the council’s overview and scrutiny committee at the next meeting on November 17. The full 2026/27 Budget and Council Tax proposals gowill be decided by the full council in March 2026.