South Gloucestershire Council has agreed and balanced its budget for the coming year (2026/27) and set out how it will invest resources to help support and improve people’s lives across the district.
The budget doubles down on the council’s commitment to delivering on local people’s priorities – to support those who are in greatest need, to build a better future for young people and to make tangible improvements to our towns and villages.
But like councils across the country, costs and demand for services continue to rise faster than inflation and government funding. The funding awarded assumes Council Tax will increase by 4.99 per cent, but to balance the books, the council must also continue to work hard and look closely at how it delivers services to be as cost effective and efficient as possible, while still holding true to its commitments and priorities.
In the coming year, the council will review its existing savings plans to set new and realistic targets. We will also continue to talk to local people through ongoing Community Conversations, consultations and engagement such as the Your Voice forums in each area.
It will also make investments into the services and infrastructure that increasing numbers of local people rely upon, including:
• Spending to assist the work of social workers supporting adults and children with complex needs, to achieve the best possible outcomes.
• Pushing forward projects that help our children have the best start in life and achieve the best possible future for themselves. We will expand locally run services, build and improve schools, and make sure hard-working families can continue to feed their children during the school holidays.
• Working with businesses to help high streets thrive in the face of ongoing changes to shopping habits and people’s choices for leisure activities. New investment will be targeted towards improving accessibility to help disabled and elderly people to shop locally.
• We will continue to seek strong partnerships with local, regional and national government to attract as much new funding to the district as possible, for specific projects that improve the fabric and infrastructure of our communities, including for road repairs and providing viable active travel options.
The budget will see the Council Tax in South Gloucestershire increased by 4.99 per cent. Government funding agreements assume that all local authorities will take this step, and we would have to find further savings or stop providing some services if we did not do this. It means that residents in the average Band D property will now pay £2,027.71 in 2026/27, with local Town and Parish Councils, Police and Fire Service precepts being added and agreed by those authorities.
We are confident that we have also taken decisions to preserve vital and valued services, such as occupational therapy and related support services that help older and disabled residents adapt their homes and live independently for as long as possible.
While it is right and reasonable that the council examines again all areas of spending, the focus will be 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. The council will also seek to preserve the valued support delivered through our existing HandyVan and Pest Control services.
South Gloucestershire Council Leader, Cllr Maggie Tyrrell, said: “We’ve taken a responsible and planned approach to balance the budget for the next two years. This means using our reserves alongside making further efficiencies, changing the way that some services are delivered, and longer-term financial planning.
“We, like councils across the country, continue to face rising demand for statutory services. Social care for the elderly and disabled, education and children’s social services. We have had to balance how we ask local people to contribute to these increases, with taking a long, hard and ongoing look at every penny we spend to make sure we are offering local people value for money and a council that reflects their values and commitment to helping those in the greatest need.
“This is a sensible, prudent budget, for today and for the future. I’m pleased that it includes commitments and investments that will improve people’s lives, in schools, through social care and on our high streets.”
South Gloucestershire Council Co-Leader, Cllr Ian Boulton, said: “This budget will deliver for local people. We can’t do everything we want to do right now, but we want to provide clarity and transparency, not empty words or hollow rhetoric.
“Where there are tough choices to make, we will make them, and we will talk and listen to our residents about them. This budget allows us to be true to our principles and those we know the people of South Gloucestershire share.”
Full details of the Budget can be found on our website as part of the papers for the meeting of Full Council, held on Wednesday 11 February: https://council.southglos.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=17397
