Dewsbury, Batley and Spen residents set to see council tax bills rise by 4.99 per cent as Kirklees Council faces a £43million budget shortfall

Kirklees Council’s cabinet has unveiled its budget proposals to address the council’s financial predicament and plans on implementing a 4.99 per cent council tax increase – the maximum allowed by the Government.

This equates to an additional £1.63 a week to be paid by those living in a Band D property and £1.09 per week for Band A.

Two per cent of the increase will be paid directly to services for older people and residents with disabilities. This comes as part of the Government’s adult social care precept which allows councils that provide social care to adults to charge an additional fee.

Protecting services for older people, people with disabilities and children are priorities within the wider budget, as well as maintaining vital services for the community.

The district’s 24 libraries are set to be sustained by the budget and will continue to provide a warm space as well as a place to access services and resources.

Cabinet members are also set to agree a £6million bailout for Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL) to fund the re-opening of some of its leisure centres that closed in December and to maintain its estate.

However, it has now been confirmed by the council that the future of Batley Baths and Deighton Sports Arena is up in the air.

To balance its books, the report states that the council will be “delivering existing services in a more efficient way while working hard to minimise the impact on residents”. This is expected to generate a £19million saving.

The council will also be dipping into its reserves, using £25million to bridge the remainder of the gap.

Previously, as energy and inflationary pressures began to mount on the council in the autumn, the council put in place emergency measures to reduce costs, including a reduction in recruitment and a review of how it uses its buildings. This will continue into the new financial year, with savings said to be found from managing staff vacancies and reducing building costs.

Alongside funding for day-to-day services, the budget will continue to invest in major projects with £191million forecast to be spent in the coming year to boost the local economy. However, it is suggested that some schemes could be delayed or “re-phased”.

The budget proposals will be debated by the cabinet on February 21. If they are endorsed at that meeting, they will be presented to a meeting of all councillors for debate on March 8. The new budget will come into effect at the start of the new financial year on April 1, 2023.

Coun Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council, said: "This budget protects services that residents value most while taking the difficult decisions needed in this harsh economic climate.

“Our budget puts the council on a sound financial footing but we need change, at a national level, to safeguard services in the long term.

"The historic underfunding of Kirklees must end and our whole sector needs a long-term solution to social care costs.

"Without these kinds of changes, we will be heading into a new era of austerity, which is the last thing the residents of Kirklees need during a cost-of-living crisis.”