Sheffield council tax set to rise by nearly 5%

Sheffield City Council said it had "not taken the decision to increase council tax lightly"

Council tax in Sheffield looks set to rise by 4.99% as the city council looks to balance the books in the face of a £69m funding shortfall.

The increase, which is the the maximum allowed without a referendum, would help to stave off "wholesale closures of services", the authority said.

The "difficult choice" had been forced by a decade of government funding cuts, the council added.

Councillors will consider the draft budget proposals on 21 February.

Tony Kirkham, interim director of finance and commercial services, warned the authority would "become financially unsound from 2024-25 onwards" if it did not act.

Most households would see their council tax bills rise by £1.12 per week under the plans, which would generate about £5m in funding, according to a report to the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee.

The council said it had "not taken the decision to increase council tax lightly", but the alternative of additional spending cuts would "have too great an impact on vital services in the city".

'Increasingly difficult'

Mr Kirkham said cuts to government funding between 2010 and 2020 meant the council had £856 less to spend per household in real terms than a decade ago.

He added: "Thirteen years of delivering over £475m of savings to offset cuts in funding, as well as cost pressures resulting from inflation and demand for vital service, means savings have become increasingly difficult to deliver without wholesale closures of service on which Sheffield residents rely."

The council has already identified £48m in savings in its 2023-24 budget, including the sale of buildings, cutting subsidies to leisure providers and reviewing care packages.

The full council is due to vote on the final budget on 1 March.

Three-quarters of English councils with social care duties that have published budget details are planning the maximum 4.99% hike in council tax, according to County Councils Network (CCN).

The government has said that councils should consider money pressure on residents.

It said the amount local authorities would be able to spend in the coming financial year was set to rise by £5.1bn, representing an average 9% rise for local authorities.