Council tax increased after 'significant' bill

Residents will pay the maximum amount of council tax as an authority deals with what it says is a "significant and unpredictable" social care bill.

From April, council tax bills in Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) will increase by 4.99%, which is equivalent to £86.64 a year for a typical band D property.

The increase the most council tax can rise without special permission from the government, or a local referendum.

Mark Elliott, BANES Council's Liberal Democrat cabinet member for resources, said it had overspent on social care in every quarter in 2024.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Elliott said as he presented the budget plans to the council on 25 February: "Many councils and residents of other authorities would be extremely envious of our position.

"We have healthy reserves, we are not at any significant risk of finding ourselves in financial difficulty.

"We are not, as other councils are, unable to balance the books or making swingeing cuts to services. We are not having to apply to central government for permission to make exceptional council tax rises."

2.99% of the rise will be for general use, while two will be ring fenced for spending on adult social care.

BANES Council's budget will increase its social care funding by £6.5m.

It included cuts, savings, and new charges and income to make up a £14m budget gap.

But Robin Moss, the council's Labour leader, said the planned budget was "more of the same."

"The Labour group can have no confidence, unfortunately, that these budget proposals are going to make any different outcome to the previous year, so we will not be supporting them," he said.

The 2025/26 budget as put forward by the Liberal Democrat administration was passed unamended by 36 votes to eight, with only members of the Liberal Democrats voting in favour.

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