Councillors urged not to block council tax rise

The leader of Derby City Council has acknowledged she may struggle to pass her budget plans amid opposition towards a maximum council tax rise.

The Labour-led authority has put forward plans for the next financial year that include a council tax rise of 4.99%, the maximum amount it can be hiked by without a local referendum.

The council, however, has also said that the authority's finances are in better shape than they have been in recent years.

Council leader Nadine Peatfield said frontline services would suffer a £1.5m hit without the hike.

Last year leaders were forced into a climb down on plans for a maximum rise amid opposition led by the Conservatives.

The authority is led by Labour, but the party does not have majority control on the council.

It allows for the possibility that opposition councillors can join forces to oppose plans they do not like.

The Conservatives in Derby have said the plans for the upcoming budget are a "disappointment" and are discussing how to amend them to potentially stop a maximum rise.

"[Labour] made such strong plays about not increasing the tax burden...we are seeing a continuation of the council tax increase despite those promises," said Conservative deputy leader Jonathan Smale.

"[Council tax] certainly shouldn't go up by the maximum allowance. If that's the case, that means we'll have to make a saving elsewhere to deliver that budget."

In response, Peatfield told the BBC: "The choices are, if we don't raise it to the maximum...then we don't have as much to play with and we can't make as much of a difference.

"When they cut the council tax rise by 1% last year, we didn't get £1.5m last year."

Asked if she thought that other councillors could block her plans again, she acknowledged that "they might".

"But the thing I challenge to them is, what we have proposed in this budget is all stuff that people have said they want to see. They want those things delivered.

"So if you are not going to raise it to the maximum, where are you going to find that £1.5m, what are you going to cut out of this budget?"

Challenged on whether the tax needed a maximum rise amid claims that the council's finances are in better shape than they have been in recent years, Peatfield said that priority was "putting money back into frontline services".

Leaders at the council said Derby had benefited from a new government funding formula more than many similar councils for this budget, with an increase in core spending power of about 9%.

Erewash Borough Council has said it plans to freeze the tax on local residents for the first time in years thanks to an increase in central funding from the government.

In Derby, Reform UK said it was still discussing its position on the budget but stressed it was prioritising "value for money" for residents.

The party would potentially be put in an awkward position by opposing a maximum rise given one of its city councillors, Alan Graves, is preparing to do the same as leader of Derbyshire County Council.

Other elements of the budget in Derby are also facing opposition.

A proposal to fund two new officer roles - focusing on climate change at a total of about £130,000 - have been dubbed "a waste" by the leader of the Conservatives Steve Hassall.

The group said it was seeking to "amend" the roles, "redirecting the funding back into the community where it is urgently needed".

Reform UK's leader in Derby, Tim Prosser, also said he was "very concerned" about the plans.

"The Labour administration and government are spending fortunes prioritising headline projects whilst unemployment is skyrocketing, poverty is increasing dramatically in the city and people are really struggling," he said.

A vote will be taken on the budget plans at a meeting of full council on 25 February.

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