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 for the next financial year and period of the Medium Term Financial Plan, 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, Full Council have taken the difficult decision to increase Council Tax by 4.99% for 2025/26. This is:
- a 2.99% increase in the general Council Tax
- a 2% increase for the Adult Social Care precept for 2025/26
Full Council also agreed an inflationary uplift of 1.7% on the council’s discretionary fees and charges.
Full Council also agreed 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.
Full Council also approved 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 its vision and priorities.
Cllr Andrew Jarvis, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, said:
“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 be in a position to deliver a balanced budget at the same time as increasing investment in our services and communities. 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 will continue to ensure our voice is heard in respect of ensuring that the higher costs incurred in delivering rural services is reflected fairly in any future funding mechanism.
“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 the decisions taken by Full Council will not be welcomed by everyone. However, I must stress that it is a legal requirement to deliver a balanced budget and as a result of prudent financial management we have achieved that. I also want to remind residents that 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 those communities most affected and wider delivery of our council priorities. 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."