A budget to protect services and prepare for the future

Following the Council meeting on 21 February, council agreed a balanced budget for 2023/24 that will protect essential services for residents and ensure a secure financial position for the future of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

The budget meets the challenges posed by the cost-of-living crisis and lays the foundations for a sustainable financial future while investing where it matters most – caring for, supporting and protecting children and vulnerable adults in our communities and improving our towns for residents.

Key investments include:

• an extra £14.6m in Children's Services
• an extra £25.5m into Adult Services
• £1.9m into unearmarked reserves to build them up to 5% of net revenue expenditure – a barometer for best practice amongst local authorities
• creating a new High Street Renewal Fund, to support our partnership work focused on rejuvenating high streets.

In line with many other local authorities in the country, council tax will be raised by 4.99% (made up of 2.99% for the basic Council Tax and 2% for the social care precept). This below inflation rise will provide financial security at a time of unprecedented national economic challenge while the overall council tax remains lower than many other local authorities of a similar size, partly down to successive years of council tax freezes or limited rises. This now puts a band D property’s 2023/24 bill at £1,683.23 from 1 April 2023.

Council Leader Philip Broadhead said: "This is a budget, which – despite serious global financial headwinds – balances the books for the forthcoming year, heavily invests into services to protect the most vulnerable in our region, continues the work of putting the council’s finances into a long-term stable position and increases our unearmarked reserves.

"Like all councils, we’re facing some difficult choices. Since setting last year’s budget, the cost of running council services has increased by £55m over 22/23 and 23/24 due to inflation alone – as an example, it now costs an estimated £2m extra per year just to power the area’s streetlights. But where other councils are cutting libraries and leisure centres, we’re protecting core services and continuing successful programmes such as those that have helped reduce anti-social behaviour last year across our towns by around 20% compared to the previous year.

"This is a budget that directs investment to where it matters; supporting important council services and continuing to safeguard the work we do for our most vulnerable residents. It also keeps vital funding going into the places we all love and the culture we can all enjoy.

"It also prepares us for some of the big challenges on the horizon. It ensures we are financially strong and sustainable as we continue to deliver on our Big Plan promise to invest in our iconic place, build homes, create jobs for local people, and support the growth of our vital economy.

"I am grateful for the work done across the political parties to achieve this balanced budget and for their ideas, some of which we have been able to accommodate"

Council tax bills will begin arriving through residents’ letterboxes in the coming weeks.

Council tax levels for 2023/24 are:

The full budget report can be found on the council’s website, along with a recording of the meeting: BCP Council – Democracy