Council plans to raise tax by maximum amount

Wakefield Council plans to increase council tax by the maximum amount for the fourth year in a row.

The Labour-run authority said the 4.99% rise was part of measures designed to plug an expected £23.4m budget shortfall during 2026-27.

The spending plan also included making £11.5m of "service efficiencies and savings" across a number of departments.

A council report said the financial climate for local authorities remained "extremely challenging".

The council tax rise, which includes an additional 2% to support social care costs, equates to an annual increase of £89.90 for households in Band D, or £1.72 per week.

The move is expected to raise £9.7m of additional income for the authority.

According to the report, 50 councils out of 317 nationally had required emergency financial support from the government over the past two years, including Leeds and Bradford.

Other recommendations included investing a total of £20.9m in frontline services for vulnerable residents, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The council plans to spend an additional £9m on adult social care and £5m on children and young people, after the report said both services continued to experience "record levels" of demand.

In separate proposals, the authority is set to agree plans to spare terminally ill residents from paying council tax.

Last September, councillors voted unanimously in favour of offering financial support to residents who had been told by doctors they had less than a year to live.

Cabinet members are expected to implement the decision from the start of the next financial year, on 1 April.

Meanwhile, the wider council tax plans are expected to be approved at a meeting on 13 January before being put out for public consultation.

After feedback has been received, final proposals will go back to the cabinet in February, with a decision due at a full council meeting on 2 March.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.