Kirklees Council: 4.99 per cent rise in council tax for residents in Dewsbury, Batley, Mirfield, Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike

The local authority’s spending plans for the coming financial year have achieved a balanced budget but tough money-saving measures remain on the horizon as the council needs to make a saving of £34.5m over the next year.

Among the measures is the 4.99 percent council tax increase, two percent of which is earmarked for social care services for older residents and local people with disabilities.

In total, this means an additional £1.71 per week will be payable for an average Band D property.

In addition, job cuts, service redesigns, the sale of assets, and parking fee increases are some of the other ways the council intends to make the necessary savings and avoid effective bankruptcy.

The agreed budget will also see the council spend £258m on care services for adults in 2024/25. Spending on social care services for children will be £69m. The council’s plans include a £1.4bn investment into the Kirklees economy over the next five years through its capital plan.

The council faces increasing costs and demand for services like social care, which it must provide by law, and which support local residents with some of the most pressing needs.

Coun Cathy Scott, leader of Kirklees Council, said: “Councils across the country are setting their budgets in some of the most difficult circumstances in living memory.

“We’ve had to take painful decisions to give the council financial stability. But, at the same time, we’ve tried to stay true to our values.

"That means focusing our resources on the people who need our support most. It also means modernising and transforming services to make them as efficient as we can.

"And it means continuing to invest in our future, to bring jobs and opportunities to families and communities in every part of Kirklees.”

Coun Graham Turner, cabinet member for Finance and Regeneration, added: “All our services, from safeguarding children to emptying bins, rely on stable funding.

“That’s why it’s been so important to deliver a balanced budget for residents.

"The alternative to a balanced budget would be worse for residents, local services and hard-working council staff.”