Residents in the Burnham-On-Sea area face an increase in council tax from next April despite more money being made available to public services in Somerset, it has emerged this week.
Somerset County Council has been told it will receive a 3.7% increase (£13m) for core spending, however the figures assume the authority will raise its band D council tax by 2.99%, which is the maximum level without triggering a local referendum.
Core spending refers to all sources of funding for the county council – such as council tax, business rates and grant funding from central government – which has been reduced during recent years.
Last week, we reported that the government said Somerset County Council and the county’s five district councils would be part of a pilot scheme, allowing them to retain 75% of business rates in 2019/20 rather than the usual 50%.
It is estimated that this will generate an extra £6.8m, which will be distributed as follows:
- £1m for the county council to “support front-line services, such as those for vulnerable adults and children”
- £2.4m for the district councils for their front-line services
- £3.4m for projects which “support economic activity and growth in Somerset”
While David Fothergill, Chief Executive at the County Council, described the money as “fantastic news,”, he added “these additions are… one-off allocations”.
“This doesn’t solve the fundamental problem of inadequate funding for local government, which means we are having to look at bridging a funding gap of around £28m over the next three years.”
Meanwhile, Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge Town Council is also setting its budget for the next financial year and expects to see a small increase.
