Kirklees council tax bills to rise by 4.99%

Image caption, Cost-saving measures approved by Kirklees Council include job cuts and parking fee hikes
  • Author, Abigail Marlow
  • Role, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Kirklees residents will see a 4.99% council tax increase after the authority agreed its budget for the 2024/25 financial year.

Kirklees Council鈥檚 spending plans were given the green light at a meeting on Wednesday.

Job cuts, service restructures, the sale of property and parking fee hikes are all likely to be imposed as the council attempts to save 拢34.5m over the next year.

The council tax increase includes a 2% rise earmarked for social care services for older residents and people with disabilities.

'Painful decisions'

In total, this means an average Band D property in Kirklees will have to pay an additional 拢1.71 per week.

During a heated debate, multiple Labour councillors blamed insufficient funding from the Conservative government and 14 years of austerity, while some Tory members said that mismanagement by the Labour administration was responsible.

The Lib Dem group also criticised the approach the Conservative government had taken to funding local authorities, but suggested that Labour鈥檚 proposed budget could have been distributed more fairly across the district.

Ultimately, the budget put forward by the Labour administration was agreed without any amendments from other political groups being adopted, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Following the meeting, council leader Cathy Scott said: "Councils across the country are setting their budgets in some of the most difficult circumstances in living memory.

"We鈥檝e had to take painful decisions to give the council financial stability.

"But, at the same time, we鈥檝e tried to stay true to our values. That means focusing our resources on the people who need our support most."

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