South Gloucestershire Council will be able to balance its budget for the next two years by continuing to make more efficiencies and using its reserves. Despite the financial difficulties facing the authority, there will also be continued investment in the council’s priorities, but leaders were clear about the ongoing and significant pressures facing local government and the need for longer-term solutions to avoid further cuts to services.
The Full Council will consider and set its budget for 2026/27 at the meeting on 11 February, based on the latest information from government and feedback provided by residents through the consultation last year.
Councils across the country continue to face rising demand for statutory services, with costs increasing faster than inflation, faster than government funding, and faster than it is reasonable or sustainable to raise council tax. Increasing numbers of children, families and older residents need care and support, while the cost of maintaining roads and other infrastructure continues to rise as materials become more expensive and extreme weather conditions place greater strain on ageing assets.
To balance the budget, the council is taking a responsible and planned approach, using its reserves alongside making further efficiencies, changing the way that some services are delivered, and longer-term financial planning.
Local people were invited to comment on the draft budget last autumn and many expressed frustrations that the burden of meeting increasing costs was being passed to householders through council tax. However, even where the latest Government grants to councils have increased, they have not addressed the underlying budget gap for most, including South Gloucestershire, and Westminster forecasts on council spending power assume that all local authorities will continue to raise council taxes by 4.99 per cent each year.
Feedback from residents during the budget consultation has directly influenced proposals. Following strong support from residents, the council will continue to invest in occupational therapy and related support services that help older and disabled residents adapt their homes and live independently for as long as possible. Changes will focus on updating charges and delivery models, so these services remain sustainable in the long term, after many years in which costs have been kept artificially low.
Despite the difficult financial context, the draft budget includes targeted investment where it can make the greatest difference.
We heard from hard working families who are struggling with day to day living costs and have recognised that we need to do more to help those who are trying so hard to help deliver a better future for their children. Therefore, we will continue to support families feed their children during school holidays, initially through to the end of the next summer break.
We will continue to invest in South Gloucestershire as a place. We have invested record levels in improving our travel infrastructure, leading nationally in the delivery of homes for social rent, and continue to have excellent recycling rates thanks to the efforts of residents, supported by our new waste contract.
The council has also opened three new children’s homes in the district over the past year, improving outcomes for young people in care, while reducing reliance on expensive out-of-area placements. Continued investment is being made in schools, including expanding special school provision so more children can be educated closer to home.
South Gloucestershire Council Leader, Cllr Maggie Tyrrell, said: “I am pleased that we can present a balanced budget, thanks to the commitment and dedication of the public servants who work for the council who do so much for local people. I am also pleased that we will be able to make investments and prioritise spending according to our priorities and that will continue to help local people.
“To allow us to do this, we will use our reserves; we will need to increase council tax in the way government has assumed when they set the amounts they give us; and we will need to increase our fees and charges so that people using services that are not free are covering the cost of delivering them.
“There are positives in this budget, and we are able to make some of the investments we’d like to, including to support families to feed their children during the school holidays, for example, as well as using our powers in planning to increase the supply of affordable homes.
“In difficult times we have been able to demonstrate that we will invest where we can, to make local people’s lives better. In the past year, for example, we have set up three new children’s homes in the area, to give the young people in our care better support locally in ways that also save us money.”
South Gloucestershire Council Co-Leader, Cllr Ian Boulton, said: “We welcome greater certainty from government about funding over the next three years, as it allows councils to plan more effectively. However, it also makes clear that the funding available still falls short of what is needed to continue delivering everything residents expect.
“We know people feel they are paying more and receiving less, but council tax is not a payment for a single service. It is what allows us to provide a universal safety net, from care for vulnerable residents to collecting bins and maintaining roads.
“Despite the challenges, this joint administration is making a positive difference, including building and improving schools and expanding specialist provision so more children can get the support they need locally.”
