Plans for 2% council tax rise and £6m boost for services

BUDGET PLANS FOR 2026 WILL SEE FOCUS ON INCREASED INVESTMENT

- By DANIEL HODGSON

MIDDLESBROUGH residents will not be on the receiving end of a 4.99% council tax increase come April, council chiefs have confirmed.

The news comes as leaders in the town set out the initial budget plans, with a focus on increased investment and emphasis that there will be no cuts in this budget - the first time the latter has happened in over a decade.

This year sees a different budget to the ones that Labour mayor Chris Cooke has delivered so far, both of which previously raised council tax by 4.99%, the maximum amount permitted. His first budget required millions of pounds of exceptional financial support from central government to balance the books.

Reflecting on the years gone by, Mr Cooke said his administration had inherited “quite a difficult set of circumstances”. The council was under a Best Value Notice when he became mayor in 2023.

But he says the council is now in a different position. A council tax increase of 2% is proposed, which is ring-fenced for use in the adult social care department, an area the council says is still seeing “rising demand”. This is less than the 4.99% assumed by government.

Nationally, the Government is undertaking a ‘Fair Funding Review’ from which the mayor said there is an expectation of an “uplift” in Middlesbrough. However rates are yet to be confirmed by the Government, with final details on the town’s funding expected to be announced later this year, and mean the budget proposals are subject to change.

The budget has been built upon figures the council received on December 3, which is prior to the provisional settlement being announced by the Government. On the wider financial situation, Mr Cooke said austerity years saw a loss of around £120m in government funding.