During 2023/24 Central Bedfordshire:
- plans to spend around £475 million on services
- plans to spend £253 million on new facilities like schools, leisure centres and care homes
- plans to increase efficiency, reducing costs by £9.5 million
- will not increase its share of Council Tax
Times are tough for families up and down the country and residents expect Council Tax to be kept as low as possible, especially this year.
Finances are tough for local authorities too, but Conservative-run Central Bedfordshire prides itself in sound financial management. Because of this, it has been able to freeze its share of Council Tax this year whilst protecting services from cuts and in some cases, such as children's services, is increasing investment.
Commenting on the budget, Blake said:
"Central Bedfordshire is the only upper tier local authority in England to have frozen its share of Council Tax. The budget is a reflection on the Conservative commitment to maintain sound financial management, and it means that families can now be supported through tough economic times by keeping tax down. We should always strive to keep taxes as low as possible so individuals have more in their pockets to do with as they wish, so I welcome this budget which seems to me to strike a good balance for the forthcoming year".
Notes to editor
- Full details of the 2023/24 Central Bedfordshire budget can be found here
