THIS year’s budget for Wiltshire Council was approved in a cabinet meeting held on 31st January.
The budget includes increases in Council Tax, along with cuts to some services, and will now go before full council on Tuesday 21st February to be ratified.
The council’s proposed budget for 2023/24 stands at £465million. Cabinet confirmed its proposal to put forward a 2.99% general increase for the council’s element of council tax, plus a 2% levy to be spent solely on adult social care.
If agreed at full council, this will mean an increase of £1.57 per week of the Wiltshire Council element of the Council Tax for households in the average Band D property.
The council’s last reported budget gap for 2023/24 to 2025/26 in November stood at around £45million, but following confirmation of the Government’s financial settlement, this was brought down to around £33million.
However, Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet is proposing a balanced budget for this three-year period, which does not require the council to use reserves to fund ongoing service delivery.
The council is also able to release £13million of reserves, which will be partially spent on housing provision. The plans do also involve cuts in some areas. Elderly friendship lunch clubs and groups for those with learning disabilities, will no longer be given grants.
The council is currently forecasting a net overspend for the year of £5million, the equivalent to 1.25% of the overall net budget.
However, the Cabinet has agreed that this overspend will be met from the inflation reserves that were set aside to cover the anticipated cost of inflation during 2022/23. So, the council is confident that the 2022/23 budget will be balanced at the end of the financial year.
The overall capital budget, used to improve and maintain the county’s infrastructure, is around £191million. Some of the projects that form part of the council’s capital programme include the redevelopment of Melksham House, the Salisbury and Trowbridge Future High Streets projects, highways maintenance, and the Silverwood School construction for learners with SEND.
Leader of Wiltshire Council, cllr Richard Clewer said, “I really welcome the constructive and transparent discussions we’ve had since our budget proposals were published.
“Setting a budget involving an increase in Council Tax is never easy and it is really important that we explain to residents what we are asking for and more importantly why.
“Now that my Cabinet has formally approved the budget, we now look ahead to full council for a full debate and discussion, as we seek to get it formally approved.”
