Council tax rise for West Sussex households and County Hall budget agreed

It was approved during a meeting of the full council on Monday (February 28) alongside the budget for 2022/23.

The rise will be made up of a 1.99 per cent general increase plus an additional one per cent dedicated for adult social care.

It will take County Hall’s share of an average Band D bill to £1,555.74 – £4.26 per day – up 87p per week on last year’s bill.

This does not include the precepts from Sussex Police and the relevant district/borough councils.

As for the budget, it allows for revenue spending – the day-to-day costs of running the council and its services – of £648.342m, an increase of £23.5m compared with 2021/22.

A five-year capital programme – money for large or one-off projects – of £755m was also approved.

It includes £21m to invest in the road maintenance programme over the coming years.

Jeremy Hunt, cabinet member for finance, said: “Through this capital programme we continue to invest in the county’s infrastructure – not only for the benefit of the current generation but also for future generations to come.”

The budget changes across the various services added up to:

Adults services – £6.3m increase to £215.9m

Children and young people – £8.5m increase to £139.3m

Community Support, Fire and Rescue – £4.4m increase to £45.1

Environment and climate change – £1.3m increase to £62.1m

Finance and property – £1.5m increase to £25.1m

Highways and transport – £4.8m increase to £41.4m

Learning and skills – £6.3m increase to £29m

Support Services and Economic Development – £1.1m increase to £41.5m

On top of that, there was:

£10m of capital funding to support the delivery of the council’s Carbon Net Zero strategy.

£16.7m for adult social care to reflect the costs due to increases in the National Living Wage, the new National Insurance rate and general costs of inflation, and

£2.7m to cope with the increase in demand for children’s services

Mr Hunt thanked Katharine Eberhart, the council’s director of finance, and her team for their ‘sterling work in ensuring that somehow we continue to find the necessary revenue to meet the increasing demands of our services whilst at the same time presenting a balanced budget’.

Speaking after the meeting, Paul Marshall, leader of the council, said: “The budget agreed today is all about looking after our residents, protecting services, and providing essential support across the county.

“It is a resilient and responsible approach as we face the many challenges of coming out of the pandemic, including tackling the growing threat of climate change.

“Our carefully considered budget aligns with Our Council Plan, the strategy which sets out how money should be spent and performance measured.

“I am pleased we are able to provide this stability for residents in the year ahead.”