Budget agreed for 2023/24
We have today (23 February) agreed a balanced budget that includes almost £13.1m savings and uses over £25.8m of reserves to help address the funding gap. Despite using reserves, we estimate that we will need to make savings of approximately £55m over the next five years.
Councillor Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council said "We now have £977 less to spend per resident and, having already lost 56% of our budget for services over the last 13 years, we knew very difficult decisions were going to have to be made. This is a not a situation any of us want to be faced with, but we believe we have agreed the best option we have.
"It became very clear during our public consultation how important our environmental services are to our residents and we have listened to the views raised by, not only removing these savings proposals from our budget, but also by investing an additional £2m in this area over the next 12 months. We hope this investment will restore more civic pride in our beautiful borough and will encourage everyone to take the time to help us look after the environment in which we all live."
Council Tax will increase by 2.99% with an additional 2% adult social care Government charge to help meet the growing costs of adult social care. The increase of 4.99% will mean an extra £1.26 per week, or £65.57 per year, for Council Tax payers in the lowest band A properties which make up 60% of properties in Gateshead.
Councillor Gannon said: "When giving councils their funding, the Government assumes we will raise Council Tax to cover any shortfall, passing the financial burden on to those who can afford it least.
"Relying on Council Tax to fund local authorities is fundamentally unfair. It's particularly unfair to areas like Gateshead who have more properties in the lower Council Tax bands, A-C. This means we're not able to raise as much as other more affluent areas, meaning our financial gap is bigger when our need is greater. We know that raising Council Tax will not be a popular decision, but unfortunately, it's one we must make in order to keep providing our services. Our Council Tax Support Scheme will continue to help those who are most affected by the increase.
"We are working incredibly hard to minimise the impact of our reduced budget, particularly at a time when people need our support more than they have for decades, and we will continue to lobby Government to try to ensure local services can be funded in a sustainable and fair way going forward. We know that everyone who lives and works in Gateshead deserves better from the support given by Central Government."
Our current local Council Tax Support Scheme helps over 12,000 residents on a low income with a reduction in their Council Tax and over 8,000 pension age residents receive 100% reduction in their Council Tax.
We have today (23 February) agreed a balanced budget that includes almost £13.1m savings and uses over £25.8m of reserves to help address the funding gap. Despite using reserves, we estimate that we will need to make savings of approximately £55m over the next five years.
Councillor Gannon, Leader of Gateshead Council said "We now have £977 less to spend per resident and, having already lost 56% of our budget for services over the last 13 years, we knew very difficult decisions were going to have to be made. This is a not a situation any of us want to be faced with, but we believe we have agreed the best option we have.
"It became very clear during our public consultation how important our environmental services are to our residents and we have listened to the views raised by, not only removing these savings proposals from our budget, but also by investing an additional £2m in this area over the next 12 months. We hope this investment will restore more civic pride in our beautiful borough and will encourage everyone to take the time to help us look after the environment in which we all live."
Council Tax will increase by 2.99% with an additional 2% adult social care Government charge to help meet the growing costs of adult social care. The increase of 4.99% will mean an extra £1.26 per week, or £65.57 per year, for Council Tax payers in the lowest band A properties which make up 60% of properties in Gateshead.
Councillor Gannon said: "When giving councils their funding, the Government assumes we will raise Council Tax to cover any shortfall, passing the financial burden on to those who can afford it least.
"Relying on Council Tax to fund local authorities is fundamentally unfair. It's particularly unfair to areas like Gateshead who have more properties in the lower Council Tax bands, A-C. This means we're not able to raise as much as other more affluent areas, meaning our financial gap is bigger when our need is greater. We know that raising Council Tax will not be a popular decision, but unfortunately, it's one we must make in order to keep providing our services. Our Council Tax Support Scheme will continue to help those who are most affected by the increase.
"We are working incredibly hard to minimise the impact of our reduced budget, particularly at a time when people need our support more than they have for decades, and we will continue to lobby Government to try to ensure local services can be funded in a sustainable and fair way going forward. We know that everyone who lives and works in Gateshead deserves better from the support given by Central Government."
Our current local Council Tax Support Scheme helps over 12,000 residents on a low income with a reduction in their Council Tax and over 8,000 pension age residents receive 100% reduction in their Council Tax.
