Budget approved at Full Council today
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Wakefield Council’s budget for 2024-25 has today been approved at a special Budget meeting of the Full Council.
The budget will help deliver a new two-year plan which sets out Wakefield’s ambition to improve the lives of residents, and make sure the district has a sustainable future.
Like nearly every Council in the country, there’s a significant gap between what Wakefield needs to deliver local services and the income it receives from Government.
The ‘Building a Fairer Future’ plan focuses the Council’s limited resources on key priorities over the next two years up to 2026.
“We’re not immune from the very significant challenges facing all Councils. But we’ve managed our finances responsibly in recent years. And we know what needs to be done to continue to be sustainable into the future.
“Our plan, underpinned by the budget, helps to set out how we are going to meet this challenge responsibly, sustainably and fairly.
“We’re continuing to use the resources we have to make the maximum impact possible. We know our communities need us more than ever before - the huge increase in demand for children and adult social care services shows us that.
“We’ll never lose sight of everyone that relies on us. We’re committed to putting vulnerable people across Wakefield first. And we’ll carry on supporting our residents and businesses so that we can all live in a place we’re proud of.”
Cllr Denise Jeffery
Leader of Wakefield Council
The Council will tackle a £33.1m budget challenge though savings and efficiencies totalling over £21.4m. As well as generating £1.4m from additional income from housing growth and an extra £1.6m from business growth.
And an additional £8.7 million by increasing Council Tax by 4.99%, adding £1.05 per week for a Band A property.
Cllr Jeffery said: “This Government have presided over 14 years of chronic underfunding of local Council services, and that is having an impact on all of our lives every day.
“Any extra money we are given goes nowhere near covering the cost of inflation and rising demand for our services, particularly in social care. This inevitably means more pressure on the Council budget and on local taxpayers.
“The Government’s funding model makes it clear that Councils are expected to increase Council Tax if services are to survive. We know this is yet another financial ask of residents, but it’s one we have to make.”
Today’s Council meeting can be watched again at Council Meeting - 28 February 2024 - Wakefield Council