Nottinghamshire County Council plans 4% council tax rise from April

Nottinghamshire County Council plans to raise council tax by 4% from April in a bid to fund road repair teams and support adult social care.

Households will pay the authority an extra 1% on the regular council tax precept and a further three per cent for social care from April.

It means people living in 'Band A' or 'Band B' properties, which make up about 60% of all homes in Nottinghamshire, will see annual bills rise by £42.16 and £49.19 respectively.

Band C properties will see bills rise by £56.21 per year, with Band D increasing by £64.24, Band E by £77.29, Band F by £91.35, Band G by £105.40 and Band H by £126.48 over the year.

The Conservative-led authority has said residents struggling with the upcoming cost of living crisis will be given support and guidance as bills surge from multiple angles.

Councillor Richard Jackson, chairman of the council's finance committee, has said the increase is needed to help the authority fund social care services and implement its recent highways review.

But he said the authority's 'instinct' is to "keep council tax as low as possible".

Cllr Jackson said: "We recognised the cost of living issues and we needed to pin the council tax element of it down as low as we could.

"But with adult social care, we needed to take the maximum levy due to all the uncertainties over it at the minute."

He adds: "It would have been irresponsible to take less than that because we need to keep the service running."

It will also be used to help cut an NHS backlog in routine operations and a rise in people waiting to be discharged into social care from hospitals.

And the separate county council tax precept, Cllr Jackson says, will "double the capacity of patching gangs" to address the state of the county's roads.

"This will provide high-quality, permanent repairs so we're not just filling a pothole but cutting out large surfaces and effectively resurfacing around potholes, rather than revisiting them," he added.

Based on the number of properties in Nottinghamshire and all homes paying the increase in full, the county council element would raise an extra £5 million, while the social care rise would generate about £15 million.

But the council's medium-term financial strategy, which budgets the authority's finances for the next three years, doesn't rule out more tax hikes in the future.

Cllr Kate Foale, leader of the Labour group, said: "This comes at a time when we have skyrocketing inflation, soaring energy bills and food costs, and a real fear of a national insurance hike.

"The majority of the council tax rise is earmarked for social care, but the Prime Minister claims to have already fixed the crisis in social care. If that's the case, why are Nottinghamshire residents being made to foot the bill?

"I fear that, given the expected rise of inflation, the impact of this will be a real-term cut to funding for vital services that people in Nottinghamshire deserve and rely upon."

Residents struggling with rising bills can receive support from the authority, with help to be published on the council's website.

The Finance Committee will be recommended to approve the council tax plans as part of the wider budget when it meets on February 7.

Final sign-off will then be sought by full council on February 24.