Somerset residents are set to pick up the tab for the rising cost of adult social care – by forking out more of their money in council tax.
Sedgemoor District Council and North Somerset Council have announced increases, following in the footsteps of Taunton Deane Borough Council.
All three areas will see a 4.75 per cent council tax increase, with the councils citing government cuts as the major contributing factor to the hike.
A North Somerset Council spokesperson said: “The council is having to find a further £10.4M of savings in 2017/18 on top of the £60M savings it has already delivered since 2010.
“This is at a time when funding from central government continues to reduce and the cost of providing services continues to rise.
“In the year ahead, the council expects about nine per cent of its core funding to come from central government, but by 2020 it is likely to be nearer just one per cent, with an increasing reliance on council tax and business rates to fund local services.
“The council has been working hard on a number of initiatives aimed at reducing expenditure, and it has a programme of transformation activities under way which aims to deliver services in more efficient ways.”
Last week, North Somerset councillors approved a 1.75 per cent increase in council tax “to help meet the increasing demand and cost of frontline council services”, and an additional three per cent levy proposed by the government “to contribute towards meeting the growth and increasing costs of adult social care”.
Councillor Nigel Ashton, leader of the council at North Somerset, said: “It is the hardest budget I have had to deal with, but North Somerset staff have an excellent track record of delivering savings.
“We will continue our regeneration and growth policy that is increasingly essential as we depend almost entirely on locally generated income.”
Sedgemoor District Council, in what it calls a “balanced budget, despite reductions in grant from central government”, will also increase council tax by 4.75 per cent, but it maintains there will be no cuts for residents.
A spokesperson said: “Sedgemoor’s element of the council tax will be increased by 3.4 per cent – an additional £5 per year on a B and D property, that’s nine pence per week.
“The council also agreed to a 1.25 per cent charge for the Somerset Rivers Authority. This equates to a £1.80 per Band D property.”
“Over the past year, members have taken prudent, forward-thinking decisions that maintain and improve services and save money.”
Read more at http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/council-tax-rises-for-sedgemoor-and-north-somerset-as-councils-blame-government-for-hike/story-30165937-detail/story.html#SDfpGHS9dA8ACy70.99
