Mark Buckworth Harrison

Job number one is easing the cost of living pressure that many people still feel. Today’s GDP figures show our economy is growing. That means more money back in your pocket. I know there’s more to do, but we are heading in the right direction.

Councillors in County Durham have this morning agreed to recommend an overall 1.99 per cent increase in council tax. Members of our Cabinet revised their proposed increase and agreed to reassess proposed savings following the announcement earlier this week of additional government funding. The authority's 2026/27 budget proposals had included a potential increase of 3.1 per cent. On Monday, however, the government announced it was making available a new Recovery Grant Uplift Grant, providing an additional £440 million across the next three years to 41 councils which were due to receive a 'Core Spending Power' increase of less than 17 per cent over the next three years - around half of which is predicated on the authority increasing its council tax by the maximum 4.99 per cent increase permissible each year for the next three years. We are, receiving an additional £3.7m in 2026/27, rising to £4.9 million in 2027/28, before being substantially clawed back and reducing to £1.4 million in 2028/29. Our Cabinet has decided to recommend next week that the benefit of this additional funding is passed on to council taxpayers next year by reducing the required increase to balance its budget in 2026/27 from 3.1 per cent to a 1.99 per cent increase in the social care precept, with a 0 per cent increase on core council tax (1.99 per cent overall). A proposal to review and rationalise Household Waste Recycling Centres across the county has also been withdrawn from the budget, reducing our planned savings by £250,000. Cllr Andrew Husband, Leader of our council, said: "While we welcome the awarding of any new additional funding for County Durham, it is extremely disappointing that this announcement has been made so late in the budget setting process, but we have considered the new settlement quickly and the right thing to do is to pass this on by reducing the council tax increase for 2026/27. "While this will provide some respite next year, the majority of this new grant is to be taken away in 2028/29. In addition, once we factor in the net additional funding we will receive, it is only £1.4 million by 2028/29. We will need to deal with that in future budget rounds. "We will continue to do all we can to seek efficiencies and protect frontline services going forward. For this reason and having reflected carefully on the feedback received during the budget consultation, we will not move forward with the planned review and rationalisation of Household Waste Recycling Centres. "We continue to manage our finances against a backdrop of ongoing inflationary and demand pressures, particularly in adult and children's social care." The budget will be considered for formal approval by full council on Wednesday (18 Feb).