Council tax rise of 3.99% agreed by Shropshire Council

A council tax hike of 3.99 per cent has been signed off by Shropshire Council.

The increase, which will come into effect in April, was agreed at the authority’s annual budget setting meeting.

It means the average band D household in the county will see £1.11 a week added to their tax bills, bringing in extra funds the council says are desperately needed to meet the rising cost of adult and children’s social care.

The council’s £598 million budget for 2022/23 includes £4.5 million in service cuts, and the authority is facing a budget shortfall of over £60 million a year going forward unless a long-promised overhaul of how local authorities are funded comes to fruition.

The Conservative administration said it was no secret that it was unhappy with its 22/23 financial settlement from central government.

Councillor Gwilym Butler, cabinet member for resources, said: “We have been constantly lobbying government, directly and through our MPs, highlighting the lack of support for Shropshire, both on the ‘levelling up’ agenda and through baseline budget, on a regular basis to support social care.

“We are also left in uncharted waters with only a yearly funding statement from government. We need at least a three-year settlement to be able to plan for the medium-term, yet we are still obliged to do so with what we are given.

“I will not lie. I am concerned about the future and the ever-rising demand on social care and how we will fund it.”

The 3.99 per cent rise includes a 1.99 per cent general increase plus two per cent ring-fenced for social care – which eats up 85 per cent of the council’s overall budget.

Councillor Butler said it was disappointing that the council did not receive more support from health services in addressing the rising cost of care, and would also not benefit from the impending increase in National Insurance.

An amendment to the budget from the Labour group, to cancel the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road and re-invest the money for the scheme elsewhere, was voted down, with Councillor Dean Carroll, cabinet member for highways, accusing the group of “abandoning Shrewsbury” with the suggestion.

Proposed amendments from the Liberal Democrat and Green groups also fell. They included putting more money into active travel and limiting the planned rent hike for council house tenants to three per cent, rather than the proposed 4.1 per cent.

The budget, including the council tax increase, was passed by 42 votes to 23. All Conservative councillors and the two independents present, both of whom are former members of the ruling group, voted for, while Lib Dem, Labour and Green councillors voted against.

Councillor David Vasmer, leader of the Lib Dem group, said the council was facing “impending bankruptcy” and criticised its leadership for ploughing ahead with “grandiose projects” like the North West Relief Road and building a new headquarters despite its current financial situation.

Councillor Julia Buckley, Labour group leader, accused the administration of ignoring the feedback from residents who are struggling to make ends meet during the consultation on the proposed budget. She said: “It’s as if the cost of living crisis doesn’t exist.”

Council leader Lezley Picton said the budget setting process had been “thorough” and decisions around cuts “had not been made lightly”.

She said: “We are 100 per cent on top of this budget. We know exactly where the monies are and where we need to put the monies.

“People think the costs of living are really bad at the moment and they are, no one in this room is going to deny that, it is difficult for people.

“What people seem to forget is that our cost of living goes up too.

“Nobody in this room really wants to put council tax up I’m sure, but we do not have a choice.”