Building financial resilience and protecting vital public services were the priorities for the Council when setting the budget for the next financial year during Budget Council on Monday 24 February 2025.
The new Government has given the Council a one-year financial settlement for 2025/26 but has indicated there is likely to be a longer term, sustainable and robust financial settlement for local authorities in the future.
Cllr Scott Patient, Deputy Leader of Calderdale Council said:
“We’re six months into a new Government, financially this is a year of transition, and our budget reflects this.
“In many ways this is business as usual. We are ambitious for Calderdale and will continue to work hard to attract investment into our towns and places; keep residents safe; reduce inequalities and act to tackle climate change.
“However, it’s also sensible that we do all we can to make the Council more resilient, ensuring that our finances are on a firm footing, so that we can weather any storms ahead, whilst minimising the impact of any savings we have to make on our communities.”
Whilst the Local Government Finance Settlement provided a welcome increase in funding, unfortunately it does not fully meet the financial challenges that the Council is currently facing.
The Council continues to prioritise support for those who need it most, with 70% of the total budget now spent on adults’ and children’s health and social care.
Demand for these services has continued to rise, particularly from people with long-term health conditions and disabilities, and there is a growing number of children requiring Education Health and Care Plans. There has also been an increase in spending on housing and homelessness services and on waste.
The consequences of recent high inflation have increased costs across all services, adding additional pressure to the Council’s budget.
The Council is legally required to set a balanced budget each year. Based on the Council’s current financial forecasts, the local authority is now facing budget deficits of £3 million in 2025/26.
To protect and maintain vital public services the budget will increase Council Tax by 4.99%. This includes a Council Tax increase of 2.99% in line with the limit set by Government and an additional 2% Social Care Precept to help fund and protect social care services to vulnerable adults and children.
These increases are expected of the Council by the Government when it is calculating how much funding the local authority will receive in the financial settlement.
Savings within the 2025/26 budget include:
- Reducing adult social care package assessments by reviewing the level of social care need, recognising the changes in contribution from the NHS, reducing duplication across partners and targeting prevention to reduce and delay future need.
- Reviewing in-house mental health provision to reduce the non-statutory work currently delivered by the Council.
- Increasing the price of garden and bulky waste collection to reflect the increased cost of operating the service since the last review in 2018.
- Moving to a digital first strategy to create savings through better use of technology.
The Council has worked hard to protect the budget over recent years, bringing in significant investment for Calderdale from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and other sources.
Full details of the approved budget are available at www.calderdale.gov.uk(external link)