Bradford Council’s Leader has ruled out a freeze on Council Tax next year, telling a meeting “it’s not going to happen.”
Councillor Stephen Place (Reform) said he would “love to cut Council Tax,” but said the newfound stability in the Authority’s finances is dependent on a 4.99 per cent Council Tax rise in the coming years.
Cllr Place was questioned on Council Tax after delivering his first Leader’s Report at last week’s full Council meeting.
In the report he pointed out that Bradford was coming out of Exceptional Financial Support two years early.
In 2024 Bradford Council faced being unable to balance its books – which would effectively leave it bankrupt. The Government stepped in to offer Exceptional Financial Support – meaning the Council would be able to borrow money to fund its day to day operations.
The support came with a number of caveats – including the sale of millions of pounds worth of financial assets to reduce the borrowing level, and that Council Tax rises by a certain amount each year.
The Council had originally estimated that it would need £570m in Exceptional Financial Support by 2030.
However, a recent Government funding settlement that saw changes to how much money Council’s across the country are given Government funding, saw Bradford receive a huge boost in its central Government support.
It meant the EFS figure could be cut to £395m and the support could end in 2028 rather than 2030.
At a meeting of the Council’s Governance and Audit Committee last month, members were told that the Authority’s more stable financial position was based on the assumption that Council Tax would rise by 4.99 per cent in future years.
After Cllr Place referred to the more stable financial situation in his Leader’s Report last week, Councillor Suhail Choudhry (Lab, Bolton and Undercliffe) asked:
“Given that we will be coming out of exceptional financial support two years early, and given that we have been given a significant increase in funding from the Labour Government, will you be proposing a 0 per cent increase in Council Tax over the next two years, and what cuts will you be making to balance the books?”
Cllr Place replied:
“I would love to reduce Council Tax, we all would wouldn’t we? But unfortunately under the EFS (Extraordinary Financial Support) we’re not allowed to. It wouldn’t work, it’s not going to happen.
“We’re coming out of EFS two years early, that is a really good signal for us that things can get better and things can improve, and at budget time rather than go against each other all the time, if we come together and work on a budget, that would be marvellous.”
His last line was a reference to the fact that Reform currently has just 28 Councillors in the 90 seat chamber.
Any future budget proposals will require at least 46 votes to pass, meaning Reform will need the support of opposition parties to approve the 2027/28 budget.
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