Stoke-on-Trent council tax rise to support social care budget increase

Council tax in Stoke-on-Trent could rise by almost 5% to increase the funding available for vulnerable children and adults.

The city council is considering increasing the budget for those services to £178.5m in the next financial year, a rise of £24m.

Its proposals would see people in 93% of homes pay an additional 94p a week in council tax, or £48.84 for the year.

A consultation on the budget proposals has started.

Council leader Abi Brown said: "There is no doubt that as a city we are at a critical juncture, with the cost of living crisis and winter pressures impacting on residents and communities."

But, she said the Conservative-run authority could not allow financial pressures to stop it carrying out its work for vulnerable people.

She also said it must not "derail our exciting regeneration projects and deprive our city of the investment, jobs and opportunities that they will bring".

The local authority said its council tax remained the eighth lowest compared with 93 metropolitan and unitary authorities in the country.

It is also proposing savings of £11.5m and will consult on £6.9m of them that could affect front-line services.

Ms Brown said it could mean changes to opening hours at leisure centres and other council-run buildings, and taking some services out of surrounding towns.

She said the council would look to avoid competing with the private sector and ask, "whether we should be delivering certain services and whether we ought to reposition ourselves".

Up to 58 jobs could go under the budget proposals, but Ms Brown said while it was "really sad some people could potentially be leaving us" it was a "relatively small number", compared with the overall workforce of about 5,000.

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