From job cuts to a Council Tax hike, more “difficult decisions” are on the way for Kirklees Council as the local authority sets out its draft budget for 2025/26.
The past few years have seen the council work against a backdrop of major financial challenge, with tough cost-cutting measures like upping fees and charges, a review of the estate and stopping all non-essential spending, rolled out to help balance the books. Facilities like leisure centres, a local tip and customer service centres have been closed, parking charges increased and assets sold off, as part of this bid, much to the dismay of the public.
Next year, the struggles are set to persist, with the council working to address a £29.3m gap in its £389m budget. To do this, the council needs to make £11.4m worth of new savings in 2025/26, with £27.6m needing to be saved in total, with this figure including measures that have already been approved in the previous budget.
However, Leader of the Council, Cllr Carole Pattison, says the proposals also provide “hope”, with the opportunity for the council to “get the basics right” for all residents and deliver stability, while providing support for those who need it most.
The report explains that the council is facing around £36m worth of pressures in the coming year due to rising demand and inflationary pressures across the directorates. This amounts to £18m extra demand for older and disabled people in Kirklees who need social care, £3.6m additional funding needed for homelessness and £6m for children who need additional support.
One way the council intends to generate more cash next year is by increasing Council Tax by 4.99 per cent, with 2 per cent of this earmarked towards social care for older people and residents with disabilities. This uplift would bring in an extra £16.7m for the local authority and see Council Tax bills for a typical Band D property in Kirklees increase by £1.80 per week.
Some of the other cash-saving measures being proposed are:
- Staff redundancies, with up to 100 Full Time Equivalent roles at risk
- Reducing the frequency of cleaning across the council’s core estate
- Building disposals and mothballing
- A review of council-wide support services
- Borough-wide replacement of waste bins with smaller alternatives
- Increase in bereavement services fees and charges
- A review of service charges across the council’s housing stock
- Transferring the council’s residential dementia care homes to the private sector
The draft proposals are expected to be agreed by Cabinet next Tuesday (10 December) and would trigger a period of consultation to allow anyone in Kirklees to have a say on the council’s spending plans for the first time ever. This would run between Wednesday, 11 December and Wednesday, 15 January, 2025.
Councillors will also be asked to agree an investment programme for local towns and economic infrastructure worth £1.4bn across Kirklees over the next five years as part of the authority’s draft capital programme. This includes the borough’s most major regeneration projects across like the Huddersfield Cultural Heart and George Hotel, and the multi-million-pound schemes making up the Dewsbury Blueprint.
A balanced budget must be set no later than 10 March, 2025.
Leader of Kirklees Council, Cllr Carole Pattison, said: “Our draft budget proposals would give the council the kind of financial stability we need to deliver for residents in every part of Kirklees.
“The last few years have been tough for councils across the country. We’ve had to make difficult decisions to balance the books and this year’s budget will be no different. But there’s real hope in these proposals too. By delivering a fair and balanced budget, we can make sure we get the basics right for all residents as well as giving the necessary resources to services that support the people who need us the most.
“These proposals give local services a stable platform for the next financial year but it’s also a budget that looks to the future. There is a huge amount of investment going into Kirklees over the coming years. As a council, we want to use our capital programme to play our part in bringing even more opportunities and jobs for future generations.”
Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, Cllr Graham Turner, said: “We owe it to residents to be fair and responsible with the council’s finances. That’s what these budget proposals would do.
“In the next year alone, the council needs to absorb around £50m of extra cost pressures. This includes rising demand for social care, especially for older people, alongside the kind of inflationary pressures all of us have faced over the past few years. It means we’ve had to propose budget savings again this year, which we will achieve, as far as possible, by reducing administrative costs so that changes to frontline services are minimised.
“Before we finalise the budget, it’s really important to hear from local residents and businesses about their priorities for Kirklees. That’s why, if Cabinet colleagues agree these proposals, we will open them up for public consultation so we can hear about local people’s priorities for next year.”
