Council approves more than £100m of budget savings

Councillors in Leeds have approved more than £100m worth of savings in the budget for 2025/26

Councillors in Leeds have approved budget savings of £103.8m for the next financial year.

It means council tax in the city will rise by almost 5% for 2025/26, with a proportion ring-fenced for adult social care.

Transport services for children and families will be placed under review along with the future of 56 children's centres.

There will be a reduction of more than 230 full-time equivalent staff jobs, and council leader James Lewis said the authority could not rule out compulsory redundancies.

Earlier this month, Leeds City Council confirmed it had received £67m in extra funding for the next year.

Lewis noted it was the first budget set under the new Labour government, saying: "We've started to see more money come into the council.

"The government is allocating money to councils based on deprivation now which is a big change from the last Conservative government, so a city like Leeds is beginning to see more money coming in."

But the council will still need to save £103.8m overall to deliver its legally required balanced budget.

Lewis said: "We've agreed to have a look at community buildings in the city.

"We have about 180 buildings used for community services, some of those are really well used and we'll keep them open and invest.

"Some of them aren't well used and we'll look at whether we can put those services close by."

Council tax to rise 4.99%

He said some of the reduction in spending was "good news".

He highlighted the fact there were "more children's homes in the city so we can look after our children and we've really invested in kinship carers and foster carers in our adoption services".

Meanwhile, councillors approved a maximum 4.99% council tax rise.

The figure comprises a 2.99% rise in council tax, plus a 2% increase in the adult social care levy.

For a Band D property this means an increase of £86.29 for the year (£1.66 per week).

A "pay as you feel" policy will be introduced at venues including Leeds Art Gallery

The £67m funding boost means the proposed 10% funding cut for neighbourhood networks in Leeds will not be required, and there will be no reduction made to wellbeing and youth activity funding.

A a "pay as you feel" admission charge will be introduced at some council-run museums including at Leeds City Museum, Leeds Art Gallery and Leeds Discovery Centre.

The authority is also considering charging for entrance to Kirkstall Abbey.

It will hand over the running of Middleton Leisure Centre to a third party.

The council said possible changes to bowling green provision in the city are to be further consulted on, with the aim of looking at ways to raise income and reduce the number of proposed closures.

Opposition parties were critical of the council's budget.

Conservative group Leader Alan Lamb said people living in the city would feel the impact of the multimillion-pound cuts.

He said residents would notice the difference when they "have to pay for parking when before they didn't, when fees and charges for older people are going up, when support for social care is being cut - they're not funding social care properly - and of course council tax is going up by 5% so they are asking people to pay more and deliver less".

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