Coventry council tax to rise less than expected

Council tax bills in Coventry will rise less than expected – with the local authority set to sign off a 3.95% increase.

Labour-run Coventry City Council had been budgeting for the maximum rise of 4.99%, but said it had been able to reduce that amount after receiving better than expected funding from central government.

It is the first time in more than 15 years the council will not ask for the maximum rise and will mean about £95 extra a year for a Band D property, rather than the £120 initially forecast.

"I'm really conscious that people are having a hard time out there," Councillor Richard Brown, Labour's Cabinet member for Finance at Coventry City Council, said.

"So anything that we can do to help them with it with the cost of stuff out there is something that we take very, very seriously."

When it was pointed out that the rise was still above inflation, which currently sits at 3.4%, Brown said £1.6bn had been "stripped away" from the council since 2010.

"Now we've got a better deal for this year but it's going to take us some time to get back to where we need to be," he said.

The below maximum increase will mean the council loses £1.8m from its total possible budget, but the local authority insists it will still be able to invest sufficiently - citing an additional £7.7m due to be put into services.

It said it was looking at a one-off £2m investment to improve roads, footpaths, street cleaning and tackle fly-tipping. Extra staff are also due to be recruited to help deal with antisocial behaviour.

Significant cost increases are expected in some departments in the next financial year, with adult social care expenditure expected to rise by £4.3m.

On top of that, the council predicts increases to the national living wage will add a further £1.8m in adult social care costs.

Inflation is predicted to add £6m to the council's spending, and "operational pressures" such as tree surveys and pest control issues are predicted to add £2.9m to this year's outgoings.

The BBC previously revealed plans to "pause" the Godiva Festival in a bid to save money.

The budget is due to be signed off at a meeting of the full council on 24 February.

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