City approves budget with 4.99% council tax rise

A city council has approved a 4.99% rise in council tax - the highest increase allowed without special government permission.

Peterborough city councillors signed off the authority's 2026-27 budget on Wednesday.

It will mean the annual council tax rate for Band D properties will rise to £1,836.72, an increase of £87.30 - an extra £1.68 per week.

The budget was passed with 39 votes in favour, one against and 12 abstentions.

The authority has no overall control and is run by a minority Labour administration.

Mohammed Jamil, Labour's cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, said: "The money will be treasured and it will be valuable to make sure we don't have to make cuts in adult social care or in children's services."

The 4.99% figure includes a 2.99% increase in the basic council tax precept and a 2% increase for the adult social care precept.

Jamil said the rise was "still one of the lowest in the East of England".

Christian Hogg, Liberal Democrat cabinet member for housing and regulatory services, told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Dotty McLeod the city was "turning a corner".

"We have had a number of years where we looked at cuts. This is giving us more money to start improving those services," he said.

Conservative councillor John Howard, who abstained from the vote, said: "We are doing the council tax rise yet local services for the residents aren't improving."

Council leader Shabina Qayyum, from Labour, said the rise was "hard reality and not a choice".

"We really had to own this to protect the most vulnerable on the city," she said.

"We have reached a balanced budget for the next three years, which means services are protected for three years."

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