Draft budget proposals to be debated by Kirklees Cabinet
Cabinet will meet next week (Tuesday 10 December 2024) to agree on draft budget proposals for the next financial year.
The council’s £389m revenue budget will fund services like social care for older residents, increased funding for local children who need extra support as well as day-to-day services like bin collections and roads maintenance for everyone in Kirklees.
Councillors will also be asked to agree an investment programme for local towns and economic infrastructure worth £1.4bn across Kirklees over the next five years as part of the authority’s draft capital programme.
For residents living in an average Band D property, the budget proposals would mean a £1.80 increase in council tax each week from April 2025. The increase is in line with council tax rises expected for councils across the country.
In a change to its usual process, the Cabinet will be asked to open a budget consultation next week to allow anyone in Kirklees to have their say on the council’s spending plans. For the first time, residents would be able to comment on the details of the budget proposals before they are finalised in March 2025.
If agreed by Cabinet, consultation on the budget will open on Wednesday 11 December and will run until 15 January 2025. The budget will then be considered by the council’s Cabinet again in February with the final budget to be agreed at a meeting of all Kirklees councillors on 5 March 2025.
Leader of Kirklees Council, Cllr Carole Pattison, said:
“Our draft budget proposals would give the council the kind of financial stability we need to deliver for residents in every part of Kirklees.
“The last few years have been tough for councils across the country. We’ve had to make difficult decisions to balance the books and this year’s budget will be no different. But there’s real hope in these proposals too. By delivering a fair and balanced budget, we can make sure we get the basics right for all residents as well as giving the necessary resources to services that support the people who need us the most.
“These proposals give local services a stable platform for the next financial year but it’s also a budget that looks to the future. There is a huge amount of investment going into Kirklees over the coming years. As a council, we want to use our capital programme to play our part in bringing even more opportunities and jobs for future generations.”
Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, Cllr Graham Turner, said:
“We owe it to residents to be fair and responsible with the council’s finances. That’s what these budget proposals would do.
“In the next year alone, the council needs to absorb around £50m of extra cost pressures. This includes rising demand for social care, especially for older people, alongside the kind of inflationary pressures all of us have faced over the past few years. It means we’ve had to propose budget savings again this year, which we will achieve, as far as possible, by reducing administrative costs so that changes to frontline services are minimised.
“Before we finalise the budget, it’s really important to hear from local residents and businesses about their priorities for Kirklees. That’s why, if Cabinet colleagues agree these proposals, we will open them up for public consultation so we can hear about local people’s priorities for next year.”
You can read more about the budget proposals that will go before Cabinet here.