Council tax to be raised by maximum amount in Cambridgeshire in face of population growth
Concerns that major population growth in Cambridgeshire is outstripping funding for services have been raised by Cambridgeshire County Council.
The local authority has proposed a maximum 4.99 per cent council tax rise – which will increase the average Band D payment to the council by around £80 – to help plug a £32million budget gap.
And it is calling on the government to update its funding formula for Cambridgeshire to ensure the county gets a fair deal in the face of new development plans.
Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Liberal Democrat leader of the county council, told the Cambridge Independent in a budget briefing that the government is still relying on old figures.
“It is definitely an issue for us at the moment that some of the population data is almost 10 years out of date,” she said. “When your population is growing as fast as ours, that’s a significant issue.
“If they want to see places growing as fast as Cambridgeshire has done, they need to make sure that they are taking that into account in their formulas for government funding for local councils. And I’m not sure that we’ve been heard yet, but we are shouting very loudly.
“We want them to make sure that their data is keeping up with the population in a timely way. We’re not asking for any special treatment or for funding for more people than we actually have. We are just asking for fair funding for the population that we actually have. And that’s what we don’t get at the moment because, because they’re looking at Office for National Statistics data that is very significantly out of date.”
The council's chief executive, Stephen Moir, echoed her concerns.
“We would like the money we’re owed now for the population we’re currently serving, and then we’d like government to build in the appropriate money going forward for the increased population that is likely to arise just from inward migration, because people are still moving into Cambridgeshire. They want to live here. They want to learn here. They want to work here. That’s before the housing growth,” he said.
“The other thing that the council has been really strong in representing with ministers is it’s really important that if there are new communities or new house-building targets being considered, then that can’t be looked at in isolation. That needs to be looked at with the funding going alongside for schools, for community facilities, for GP practices – this can’t be just about growing the number of houses available. It’s got to be about communities, not just dormitories.”
Formal consultation is about to start on the county council’s proposals for its draft business plan and budget for 2025-26, which it shared on Monday (December 9).
In it, the council revealed a budget gap of £34.2million for 2025-26, which has to be closed.
As part of the report to be discussed by councillors, a council tax increase of 4.99 per cent for 2025-26 is proposed to generate around £20million in additional funding, leaving around £14 million to be found in cuts, efficiencies and sales of land and property.
As part of the savings drive, Mr Moir admitted that some jobs may be on the line in the council.
He said: “There will be some reductions in posts, but those will not be in areas that the public will experience and see. That will be in potentially areas like management or the way we run the organisation, because we can make better use of technology.
“We always avoid redundancy where at all possible. We start with agency expenditure, we delete vacancies and we redesign services and redeploy people within the council. So the actual impact on the number of people we have will be as minimal as it possibly can be.”
He promised the council would be working closely with trade unions.
The council has been impacted by the announced National Insurance contribution increase for employers in relation to paying agency care workers in adult social care.
It has proposed to spend £20million over the next three years to support providers of adult social care services to pay care workers the Real Living Wage, helping to recruit and retain people to deliver these essential services.
Other spending plans included with the draft business plan and budget are:
- £8.7m capital investment to deliver upgraded household waste recycling centres in March and Milton, and up to £6.8m capital investment across council and school buildings for low-carbon heating;
- £20m capital and £1m revenue investments into the county’s 4,500 miles of highways network, footpaths, cycleways and drainage systems in 2025-26, plus an additional £20m capital in 2026-27;
- £2.2m revenue investment to conclude the partnership-driven Cambridgeshire Poverty Strategy Commission and respond to its recommendations with evidence-based interventions to address the root causes of poverty
- £6m in delivering the Household Support Fund to deliver direct support to people who are struggling, to help people maximise their income and to provide holiday school food vouchers to support families who are suffering the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis;
- £1.3m revenue investment to create more flexible spaces for use of library facilities by communities and residents, and £350,000 capital investment for the mobile library fleet;
- More than £35m revenue investment in adult social care over the next three years;
- £26m capital investment in new primary school builds and expansions, £17m capital investment in secondary schools to provide 2,500 new places, and £8m capital investment to create additional high needs education places; and
- £1.3m revenue investment to create two in-county residential homes for children with complex needs, reducing dependence on expensive out of county provision.
The council is run by a rainbow coalition of Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independent councillors.
The deputy leader of the council, Labour’s Cllr Elisa Meschini said: “As a responsible and well-run council, we need to ensure that we are as efficient as possible. To reduce our own costs, the council is already taking a number of steps, including developing our own children’s residential homes and reviewing our long-term approach to waste disposal arrangements in the county. These will help us to deliver an improved quality of life for our residents.
“No one wants to put council tax up. But we have had to consider some really tough choices, and we are pleased that over half of residents who responded to our engagement survey support this 4.99 per cent increase.
“This will mean that we can continue with the significant levels of investment we have made in improving our highways, paying social care workers the Real Living Wage, and maintaining our commitment to net zero.”
The leader of the Independent group, Cllr Tom Sanderson, added: “These budget proposals underline our commitment to alleviating the impact of poverty across Cambridgeshire. The Cambridgeshire Poverty Commission, which we have helped establish, will be reporting back their independent findings early in the new year. Recommendations from this work will help the county council and our partners to strengthen what we do to help address some of the underlying causes of poverty.
“Through the household support fund, we continue to offer direct support to those who are struggling, providing help for people to maximise their income as well as providing holiday food vouchers to the most vulnerable families.
“The investments we are making in our libraries will mean they become more flexible and accessible spaces to deliver a wider range of council and partner services. This includes being the location for some of our Cambridgeshire Skills activity – delivering to over 5,500 learners over the last year from across 88 venues. We are particularly proud that this year we have gained Libraries of Sanctuary status for all we do to welcome asylum seekers and those seeking refuge in our county.”
Consultation on the plans began on Monday with residents, local groups, including town and parish councils, business leaders and trade unions invited to give their view via a survey at consultcambs.uk.engagement hq.com/business-planning-2025-26 by 9 January.
The feedback, along with views from the policy and service committees, will be reported to the strategy, resources and performance committee on 28 January, which makes its recommendations to the full council, meeting on 11 February.
