Kirklees Together

These are unprecedented times. As a Council, we know that the ongoing COVID impact also creates significant financial challenges for setting budgets for next year.

We are a Council that continues to manage its budgets carefully, and because of this there are a number of planned measures we intend to implement locally that will give us some financial stability and resilience over the next 18 months.

We are still fully committed to delivering on our priorities and ambitions for the borough’s residents, communities and businesses over this period and beyond.  

In last year’s budget we prioritised climate change, Place Based Working (working with and alongside citizens and organisations to make our local places even better, based on what matters to people in each unique place) and improving services to support children.

Whilst we will continue our work to deliver on these priorities, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has sharpened the need for us to invest in our economy to promote recovery, in a way that gives everyone an opportunity to benefit from our investment. This is what we call inclusive investment.

That’s why, in this year’s budget, we will focus on building an economy that works for all our residents in the months and years ahead.

We want to build a borough that we are proud to pass on to our children and we want to hear your views about our plans to tackle our most pressing social and economic problems.

Communities in Kirklees have risen to the challenges that the ongoing pandemic has set them, but the longer the pandemic lasts, the harder it gets for communities and businesses to face this.

This year’s budget will invest in activity that supports our communities with the overall aim of keeping the Kirklees pound in Kirklees.

In practical terms, this means that we will guide Government and partner agencies to ensure our businesses benefit from grants, loans and other support to keep them employing our residents and serving communities in Kirklees.

We will deliver an employment package to ensure that the government’s Kickstarter initiative results in hundreds of much needed jobs for young people in Kirklees.

We will enable partners to invest with confidence in our town centres, bringing regeneration to the heart of communities and increasing opportunities for business growth.

As an employer, we will maintain our commitment to the Kirklees affordable living wage. We will ensure our spending creates good jobs for local people and opportunities for local businesses.

Now is the time for Kirklees Council to invest in our communities, so we emerge from the pandemic stronger together.

We’re asking people to answer a short survey to give us your views on our proposals. The council’s budget couldn’t come at a more important time for our economy and we’d love to hear from as many of you as possible as we set out our plans for recovery.

Let’s do more together- answer our short survey today.