Brighton and Hove council tax to rise by 4.99%

Council tax payers in Brighton will see their bills increase by nearly 5% in April

Council tax in Brighton and Hove will increase by 4.99 per cent after the authority's budget was voted through on Thursday.

With its majority of 36 out of 54 councillors, Labour pushed the budget through during a five-hour meeting.

Due to increasing costs and demands the council had to make £30m in cuts and savings for the financial year 2024/25.

Greens, Conservatives and Brighton and Hove Independents had tried to make changes to the budget to adjust proposed service cuts, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Jacob Taylor, Labour’s finance lead, said: "This is the hardest budget that this local authority has ever had to face and the hardest thing I’ve ever had to undertake professionally in my life.

“We take zero pleasure in this Labour administration having to find savings – quite the opposite. We obviously want to be expanding and developing local government in this city."

Councillors spent five hours debating the budget

Leader of the opposition, Green group convenor Steve Davis said: “Labour’s cuts will push local services and charities to breaking point and ultimately place more pressure on council services and future budgets.

"This budget is not only cruel, but simply is not sustainable.

Conservative group finance spokesperson and leader Alistair McNair said the council had wasted £10m bringing housing repairs in-house and £1m on weed removal.

He said: “Would the Labour administration have easier choices to make with more money? Yes.

“But Labour makes the wrong choices – cutting services used by the most vulnerable people in our community."

Of the 4.99% increase, 2% is ringfenced for social care spending.

The tax increase will bring the annual council tax bill for a Band D property in the city to £2,338.06.