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Lincolnshire Residents Get 2.5% Rates Increase

Councillor Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council has announced a council tax rise of just 2.5% for the people of Lincolnshire and a budget set to protect vital services.

With the UK economy in massive debt, councils across the country face the bleakest financial outlook for decades.

Lincolnshire County Council remains committed to providing the very best services to residents – educating our young people, caring for vulnerable adults, maintaining the road network, and much more.

Against that background, the authority has set what council leader Martin Hill called “a prudent budget for Lincolnshire” for the next 12 months, taking a cautious approach to what the future might hold.

Councillor Hill commented: “We know that many people, as well as businesses, are suffering real financial difficulties and the last thing they would have wanted is a big increase in council tax. That’s why we have worked so hard to keep the council’s rise down to 2.5%. We already have the third lowest council tax out of 34 counties and are committed to keeping our council tax low. Our increase this year with be in line with the average nationally."

Lincolnshire is likely to retain its long-held status as one of the lowest taxing counties. The council is also well-placed to protect vital public services for all of Lincolnshire's 698,000 residents, whatever their age and circumstances. This is despite the fact that the demand for services is going up – for example the growing number of older people needing social care will require an extra £4m, demand for more resources in social care for children and an increase in landfill tax costs of £1.5m next year.

Nationally, the financial situation is expected to remain difficult for councils for years to come – whichever party wins the general election – as the new Government cuts public spending.

That will affect government grants to councils, including Lincolnshire County Council, which is already preparing for hard times ahead. The council is constantly looking for efficiency savings – ways to cut costs without affecting the quality of services residents rely on. Over the last two years, the council has saved £38.5m – and the drive for efficiencies will continue when the new financial year starts in April.

Cllr Hill explained: “By looking at how we can save money now, the council will help ensure that essential services are not fighting for survival in the future. We have looked very carefully at our operations and projections in order to find the necessary savings without having to make cuts from frontline services.”

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