Lincolnshire County Council approves maximum council tax hike

Lincolnshire County Council leader Martin Hill said the authority faced "steeply rising costs"

Council tax bills in Lincolnshire are set to rise by the maximum permitted amount after the county council approved its budget for 2023-24.

At a meeting on Friday, Lincolnshire County Council approved proposals for a 4.99% council tax rise.

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

Council leader Martin Hill said the authority was faced with rising costs and increased demand for services.

"Like households across the country, inflation is raising our costs, particularly for school transport, and demand for services continues to increase, most notably adult care and children's services," he said.

Challenging financial situation

Despite the increase, Mr Hill said Lincolnshire would still have one of the lowest council tax rates in the country.

However, he said: "The increased cost of living is affecting everyone. These are not easy decisions to take. We will be doing a lot to support local residents [and] it's important that we keep services at a good standard and do not give residents less than they deserve."

He said the authority had managed its finances "incredibly carefully", but despite additional government funding and "smarter working" to reduce costs, it was still having to draw on its reserves "to balance the books".

"We must not be under any illusion - our future financial situation is challenging," he added.

An additional £7m has been allocated for highways maintenance

The final budget includes £8.7m for projects that benefit local communities, which will be drawn from the council's reserves.

There will also be an additional £7m for road maintenance, lifting the highways budget for 2023/24 to about £93m.

There were calls for the authority to put £1m aside from reserves to fund PCSOs in the county amid planned cuts by Lincolnshire Police.

Meanwhile, a Labour motion called for £450,000 to be used to support Citizens Advice Services.

Both were voted down, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.