Kirklees Council has laid out its investment plans for the next financial year with a budget that focuses on tackling inequalities and investing in places, children and climate change in the borough’s recovery from COVID-19.
The council’s Budget for 2021/22 – approved by Cabinet on January 26 – will support the whole borough to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic as the council aims to tackle inequalities within communities, highlighted during the crisis.
The council’s financial plans will invest over £319 million in vital local services in the next financial year as well as devoting £650million to capital infrastructure improvements across the borough over the next five years.
The council’s budget for recovery means a basic increase in Council Tax of 1.99%. In order to support growing demand on adult social care, Government has also allowed councils to increase Council Tax by 3% for the 2021/22 financial year.
As a result, the council will be investing £5.6 million in services to some of the borough’s most vulnerable residents. The total 4.99% increase in Council Tax means a £1 per week increase in bills for residents living in a Band A property and £1.50 per week for Band D homes.
Council leader Clr Shabir Pandor said: “It would be difficult to find a council hit harder by austerity over the last decade than Kirklees. We’ve lost more than 60% of our national funding since 2010 but we won’t let that get in the way of our ambition for our people, partners and places.
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“This budget will support the people who have been hit hardest by the pandemic. It’s about jobs, businesses and services to people who need them more than ever. It’s is a budget that leaves no one behind.
“The priorities we highlighted last year – investing in places, children and climate change – are now more important than ever and our commitment to them has only increased. There has never been a more important time to support everyone in Kirklees to fulfil their potential and to live a happy and healthy life.
“The pandemic has bluntly exposed inequalities that have existed in our society for a long time and we have an opportunity to begin to put that right.
“This is a budget that’s bigger than numbers – it’s about values. This is our plan to build a Kirklees where everyone has a fair chance in life and that’s something worth investing in.”
The council’s budget for 2021/22 will now go to full council on February 10.