Bradford Council is delivering significant spending reductions by focusing on areas that improve efficiency and productivity but at the same time reduce spending. This includes £48.6m of revenue savings in 2024/25 with a further £43.6m of savings approved to go to consultation by the Executive for 2025/26.
Bradford has been given exceptional financial support (EFS) by Central Government. This allows Bradford to borrow money to make the changes needed to achieve financial sustainability. As part of this, the Government has set out criteria that allow councils to request permission to raise Council Tax higher than the 4.99% limit set for most councils. Bradford meets these criteria, which include being in EFS, having high levels of disadvantage, low Council Tax now and needing to provide support to vulnerable residents.
The Leader of the Council has submitted a request to government to discuss the potential options for raising council tax above 4.99%. Specifically, the submission requests permission to raise the rate to between 9.99% and 14.99%. The report recommends that the Executive agrees this submission which would be a one-off request for one year only. More work would need to be done before a final decision is made on this by Full Council.
Bradford’s Council Tax is currently £145 below the national average for metropolitan district councils and is the lowest in West Yorkshire. If Council Tax is raised by 4.99%, Bradford would remain the lowest in West Yorkshire and very low for metropolitan authorities. This gap would increase as other councils put their council tax up.
More than 40% of properties in the district are in Band A, the biggest group. If Council Tax is raised by 9.99%, Bradford’s Band A would increase by £113.34 annually, (about £2.17 extra a week); if it were raised by 12.99%, it would increase by £147.38 annually (about £2.83 extra a week); and if it were to be increased by 14.99%, it would increase by £170.07 annually, (about £3.27 extra a week).
Were Council Tax to increase by the highest amount of 14.99% now for example, this would reduce the need to borrow by £140 million over the next five years. Even at this higher rate, Bradford’s Council Tax would remain about average compared to other metropolitan councils.
Support is already in place to help residents who struggle financially to pay their Council Tax, including the Council Tax reduction scheme. Should the proposal to increase Council Tax be approved, further help and support would be made available for residents on low incomes who are experiencing hardship.
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said:
“Like many other councils, after 14 years of reductions in funding from Central Government we have been left in an unsustainable financial position. We welcome the additional funding from the new Government for next year. It shows they’ve listened and this is a significant step in the right direction but it can’t solve the challenges local government faces overnight.
“We are still however facing severe pressures on budgets for all our services, from social care to maintaining our parks and green spaces. We will have to continue to make difficult decisions to ensure a stable financial future.
“We have a clear five-year strategy to address our budget shortfall and achieve financial sustainability. As part of this strategy, we need to find savings or income equivalent to around £40 million next year, and £50 million per year for the following four years.
“We are trying wherever possible to find new ways of working and new funding sources so that we can save money without cutting vital services.
“This decision to request a one-off increase in Council Tax beyond the usual 4.99% has not been taken lightly. We realise that no one wants to see an increase in council tax when other bills are also rising. That’s why, if approved, we’d put in place a fund to support the least well off.
Looking ahead, we are committed to making the changes and savings needed so we can continue to deliver the services our residents rely on in the future at a reasonable cost.”
