Council sets its budget for 2024-25
Full Council met to set its budget for 2024-25 on Thursday, 7 March 2024.
The Council’s Executive published its initial budget proposals in January 2024 and consultation took place with the public via the Council’s website and other channels. Consultation also took place with partners, local businesses, parish and town councils, voluntary and community organisations and other interested parties. We also consulted with the Trade Unions and staff on the potential impact on staff.
The budget consultation ended on 17 February 2024. Thank you to everyone who gave feedback through this consultation.
The budget has been developed under an unprecedented level of financial pressure due mostly to the continued significant increases in children’s and adult social care demand and cost pressures that are consuming an ever-greater proportion of the council’s resources.
Since 2011 Bradford Council has had to find over £350m in cuts and savings due to national austerity measures, inflation and increased demand. More recently exceptional inflation and energy prices have put additional pressure on budgets.
The council has already stopped all non-essential spending, frozen non-essential recruitment and is conducting a full spending review. It is working with the children’s trust to help control and reduce costs, has reviewed reserves and the capital programme, increased fees and charges and begun a wide-ranging transformation programme.
The council has received Exceptional Financial Support from Government. The support amounts to £80 million in 2023-24, and £140 million in 2024-25 and this support has enabled the budget for 2024-25 to be balanced. Exceptional Financial Support is not provided in the form of direct funding. It is in the form of a capitalisation directive which allows the Council to utilise funding for revenue purposes by borrowing money and selling assets as it works to ensure a financially sustainable position in the future.
The council is working on a multi-year plan to get the council back to a sustainable budget level, and the strategy for achieving this will involve further savings; service transformation in council services and the Bradford Children and Families Trust, generating income from a variety of sources, and regeneration and growth.
The budget, agreed by councillors, set out the need to make a significant number of savings including;
- Closure of a Children’s Outdoor Centre.
- Closure of three household waste recycling sites.
- Cuts in funding to libraries and leisure services.
- Increase in fees and charges across the council.
- Increase in council tax.
Council Tax will increase by 4.99% which includes an Adult Social Care precept increase of 2%. This is equivalent to an increase of £80.88 per year for a property in Band D. Overall, Council Tax would still remain comparatively low compared to other West Yorkshire councils and metropolitan councils. Bradford’s Band D Council tax is 8% below the average for metropolitan authorities and 80% of households in Bradford district are below Band D.
Summary of Budget Proposals (102 Kb)