Surrey County Council: Council tax set to rise in 2024

Council tax in Surrey is set to rise next year, after the county council presented its draft budget for the next financial year.

A meeting this week heard £55m of savings had been found, with another £13.5m still needing to be identified.

The budget will be set in February 2024 and come into effect in April.

Several local authorities have said they cannot set balanced budgets, including Woking Borough Council, which effectively declared bankruptcy.

Surrey County Council leader Tim Oliver said: "Everything we do has become more expensive, with some areas seeing price increases even in excess of the rate of inflation.

"Demand for services is increasing.

"We know any rise in council tax is tough, but support is available to people who really need it.

"Last year we did not raise council tax by the maximum available as the cost of living was increasing sharply, and taken together with the proposed rise this year, council tax in Surrey has risen well below inflation."

In February, the authority increased council tax for the financial year 2023/24 by 2.99%, which was 2% lower than it would have been permitted to do under government rules.

Throughout 2023 several unitary and district councils across England have issued Section 114 notices, saying they will be unable to meet their financial obligations.

Woking Borough Council was forced to issue its notice in June, with debts of about £2bn.

And in Sussex, both Crawley and Hastings Borough Councils have raised fears they will also have to issue Section 114 notices.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].