Westmorland and Furness Council is now approaching its third year of delivering essential services for residents, businesses and communities - from waste collection and recycling to social care, education, roads, planning and so much more.
As a unitary council the last few years have also given the council the opportunity to think, and do, things differently. It has remained focused on putting communities at the heart of everything it does, providing excellent services and delivering on its vision to make Westmorland and Furness “A great place to live, work and thrive”.
Despite ongoing challenging financial pressures and uncertainty the council has kept its commitment to not cutting frontline services and to maintain investment in change and improvement. Laying the ground to make real transformational changes to services for our residents and communities.
Westmorland and Furness Council has worked hard to achieve financial sustainability by ensuring that this third financial year is funded from permanent grants and income. This means that the council is not dependent upon one off use of reserves or Exceptional Financial support from Government unlike many other councils and this is a significant achievement.
To ensure that the council can continue to be financially sustainable, deliver your services and not make cuts to frontline services Cabinet have taken the difficult decision to recommend the following to Full Council on 27 February for their final decision.
- a 2.99% increase in the general Council Tax
- a 2% increase for the Adult Social Care precept for 2025/26
This results in an overall increase of 4.99% for the council’s share of the 2025/26 council tax payments.
The Council is also proposing applying an inflationary uplift of 1.7% on our discretionary fees and charges.
Cabinet are also recommending to Full Council that £5m of the additional council tax income generated from the second homes premium is protected and invested to support our priorities and those communities most affected by tourism. This includes new funding for affordable homes, additional support for playgrounds, transport schemes and the commitment to create more 20mph areas. The remaining additional income will support core service delivery.
Cabinet is also asking Full Council to approve a new five year Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) setting out the framework for how the Council plans to use its financial resources to fund the activity to deliver on the Council’s vision and priorities.
If approved by Full Council this means that for 2025/26 the council will achieve a balanced budget which is a legal requirement.
Cllr Andrew Jarvis, Cabinet member for Finance, says:
“As everyone knows it is still a very tough financial climate out there and many people and families remain affected by the cost of living crisis. Since Westmorland and Furness Council was created, we have worked hard to ensure we deliver a balanced budget as well as creating the opportunity for investment. We know that to be ready for the future we must change and transform, and we know we can’t do this alone. We must continue to work together with our partners and communities so that together we can all make a real difference, safeguarding essential services and driving forward positive change at a much quicker pace.
"Overall, considering the national picture and the proposed national changes to funding for local government for 2025/26, our budget is in reasonable shape.
"We know that our income levels and budget choices directly affect our residents as Council Tax is our main source of income. I appreciate that our recommendation will not be welcome by everyone. However, I must stress that it is a legal requirement to deliver a balanced budget, and this increase means we will can avoid cuts to services. We also have a Council Tax Reduction Scheme which is one of the most generous in the Country meaning that we can support the most vulnerable and those most in need.
"As well as ensuring we are financially sustainable we are also committing to invest £5 million from the second homes premium for the benefit of our area. Additionally, the budget includes £150 million through an ambitious capital programme for 2025/26. Together we believe this budget will make a real difference to people’s lives and to our communities.”