Worcestershire County Council proposes 3.94% tax rise

Worcestershire County Council has proposed a tax rise of 3.94%

A council tax hike of nearly four percent is needed to help fund rising adult social care costs, a local authority has said.

Conservative-controlled Worcestershire County Council said the move would cost a Band D household an extra £53 a year.

Leader Simon Geraghty said the rate would nevertheless remain "one of the lowest county council taxes for comparable authorities".

Adult social care was a priority for the council, he added.

Council tax bills in the county have risen by about £350 over the last 10 years, with the proposed 3.94% rise set to come into effect from April if approved.

Three-quarters of the extra income is to be ring-fenced for adult social care, the council says.

The authority's proposed total budget for 2022/23 is about £373.1m, with about £250m earmarked for adult and community services, along with social care for children and young people.

That amounts to an extra £25m for care provision locally, with £17.1m of the boosted figure set for adults alone.

"The priorities this year are to protect some of the most vulnerable people in society, [hence] increasing the budget quite substantially for adult social care," said Mr Geraghty.

Despite the rise in council tax however, the council still needs to find about 8m of savings in 2022/23.

Elsewhere in the West Midlands in the last few days, Telford and Wrekin Council has announced plans to increase council tax by one percent to cover the costs of social care and Stoke-on-Trent City Council by nearly three percent, for the same purpose.

The full council in Worcestershire is due to vote on the proposal when it meets in February.