Council tax set to rise by £80 a year

Coventry City Council said it could not rule out future cuts

The majority of people living in Coventry will pay about an extra £80 a year, if plans to increase council tax by the maximum 5% are passed by the local authority.

Although a broadly balanced budget has been put forward for next year, shortfalls of £30m in 2024-25 and £42m in 2025-26 have been predicted.

The city council said the council tax rise was not something it wanted to do and it could not rule out cuts in future years.

Cabinet member for strategic finance and resources Richard Brown said 75% of residents fell into council tax bands A or B.

'Hand-to-mouth existence'

"It's really difficult to be able to have any medium-term planning, financial planning, and what we're about is surviving from year to year," he said.

"It really is a hand-to-mouth existence."

The cabinet member said although the Labour-controlled council had been handed a loan by the government to deal with inflationary pressures, it was also facing "rising demand on services".

Asked if cuts and tax rises would be inevitable for the forseeable future, he replied: "I can't rule out cuts in future years, if things continue the way they are.

"It's been sticking plaster finance for the last three to four years and the plaster's getting bigger and bigger."

Mr Brown also said the local authority was looking to tackle the £30m shortfall expected in the next financial year.

Shadow cabinet member Tim Sawdon said he guessed some council tax rise was inevitable, but "whether it should be the 5% I think is another matter".

Asked about Conservative councils charging for green waste, he replied: "I think we'd want to look at how effectively that worked before we came to a conclusion [as to] whether that was right or wrong."

Mr Sawdon added: "Since the pre-Budget report came out, we've found that the government has actually given Coventry £28m more in this last year than was expected, so that's why we've got a balanced budget this year."