Peterborough City Council proposes 2.99% council tax rise

Peterborough City Council said its plans for the city represented a "balanced budget"

A cash-strapped council that has been warned by government about the state of its financial health has announced plans to save £12.6m.

Peterborough City Council said these would help close a £27m gap in its finances which was identified at the start of the 2021-22 financial year.

A 2.99% rise in council tax is being proposed by the Tory-led authority.

Changes to library services and the Flag Fen Bronze Age site were among other plans aimed at cutting spending.

The council's budget for 2021-22 was £187.3m.

The proposals "will deliver a balanced budget for 2022-23" and look ahead to "achieving financial sustainability in the longer term", it said.

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In a statement, the council admitted it had faced "severely difficult financial circumstances due to a growing population needing more services and delivering this with significantly reduced government funding".

A review published in November by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy on behalf of the government found the financial challenges the council faced were "significant and urgent".

Changes to the way the Bronze Age site at Flag Fen is operated are also among the budget plans

The latest set of proposals included:

• Residents being asked to pay an additional 2.99% in council tax, a third of which would go to adult social care and be used to look after the most vulnerable people. That equates to £43.89 a year for a Band D property

• A reduction in some services provided by Aragon, including grass cutting on high-speed roads and a reduction in cleaning in some lower footfall areas

• Changes to ICT services procured by the council, saving in the region of £890,000

• Remodelling the library service to reduce the running costs, including investment in a mobile library service, and a reduction in budget for Flag Fen which would see the operating models for both venues change

Wayne Fitzgerald, Conservative leader of Peterborough City Council, said balancing the budget was "a huge challenge"

Wayne Fitzgerald, the Conservative minority leader of Peterborough City Council, said: "We know - and experts have told us - we have the capability, the expertise and the desire to get Peterborough to full financial sustainability over the next two to three years.

However, he described it as "a huge challenge".

"Fundamentally, we may have to stop providing some non-statutory services, because we simply cannot afford them.

"These latest budget proposals detail how we will continue to provide quality essential services for residents in the short-term and are part of our long-term plan to achieve financial stability for the council and allow us to invest in our future."

The Conservatives stressed some of the proposed changes to services would only be short-term.

Aasiyah Joseph said some of the proposed cuts were "really, really wrong"

Aasiyah Joseph, deputy leader of Peterborough's Labour group, said residents were "already suffering".

"Telling them we have to have more cuts to services, streetlights turned off; people who are in private accommodation because we don't have council houses for them are having to choose between feeding their children and paying their rent," she said.

"These people are the ones that are going to be hurt the most... and that's why we feel this is really, really wrong.

"Perhaps we would look to other ways of streamlining services... and cutting special allowances for councillors as there's a lot of money being spent... that could be better spent on other services," she said.

A consultation on the plan closes on 28 February.