Bucks Council reveals budget recommendations and tax proposals

Bucks Council has revealed its proposals for the 2022/23 budget following a consultation period, the local authority revealed on Tuesday (February 15).

It has stuck to the initial proposal revealed last month of a 3.99% Council Tax increase.

Which is broken down into a 2% rise in social care costs and a further 1.99% raise for general services.

Overall, this will cost Band D households an extra £63.96 annually.

These proposals have undergone a scrutiny process and were recommended by the cabinet, they will now be discussed at a final full council meeting next Wednesday (February 23).

Also, residents were canvassed for their opinion on where they would most like to see money spent, the council says.

Siting a 'turbulent time for public sector finances' the council has announced the tax proposals and spending plans.

Many competing pressures such as higher inflation rates and the significant costs of providing social care influenced the final tax percentage, the council says.

Bucks Council maintains it is in a better position than other local authorities and is continuing with its extensive road maintenance plans over the next term.

According to the council's projections, social care costs are projected to rise by around 5% next year.

To counter this the local authority is budgeting for nearly £300 million in total social care spending during 2022/23.

A Bucks Council spokesman said: "This huge sum means we can go on providing critical services for the residents that need them most but we need to raise council tax to help cover this cost.

"Last year councils were advised they could raise the adult social care precept by a full 3% to cover the costs of adult social care.

"However, we chose to defer some of that rise until this year, to spread the burden for our residents over a longer time. It means that this year we’re proposing a 2% rise in Council Tax to cover the increase in adult social care costs."

Here are the key areas where the council is planning on spending its budget in 2022/23:

-Continuing to spend over £100 million on improvements to roads and pavements

-Tackling the climate crisis including planting more than half a million new trees in Buckinghamshire, one for every resident

-Investing nearly £25 million in waste services, including vehicle upgrades and a new household recycling centre in the north of the county

-Cleaning every one of the 85,000 gullies in the county again this year

-Continued additional funding for litter clearance

-Adding to the funds available for rolling out high-speed broadband into additional areas

-Maintaining the Street Warden scheme in High Wycombe

Bucks Council Leader Martin Tett said: “Believe me when I say it is not an easy decision to raise Council Tax, especially when we know our residents are facing rising energy costs.

"But we face increased costs too for everything we spend money on to provide the essential services our residents depend upon.

"Council Tax now makes up 82% of how we fund these services and given costs such as adult social care are going up by as much as 5%, we simply don’t have a choice.

"We are doing what we can to keep this to a minimum and are implementing the additional 1% adult social care precept that was deferred from last year.

"We also know that residents in Bands A-D will also get a Council Tax rebate of £150 as announced by Government recently, so this will reduce the cost for many households in Buckinghamshire.

"Our budget is formed on behalf of our residents so we must include spend on projects they tell us they want.

"So overall, I am proud we are in a position to produce a balanced budget that still includes significant spending on improving our roads and infrastructure, improving our environment, and carrying on making Buckinghamshire the best place to live, raise a family, work and do business.

“The last two years have been a massive strain on us all, but we remain in a strong position to come out of the pandemic with firm plans for the future and a well-planned strategy to make these a reality.”