
Sheffield council tax to rise by almost 5% in 2025-26
She said: "Let's not pretend it undoes the years of financial strain that councils have faced. We are still dealing with the long-term impact of austerity, the rising costs of delivering services and the increasing demand on social care, housing and public services."But it does allow us to make decisions with a little more certainty which will help us protect the services people rely on."Over the next year the council will have pressures of almost £72m because of a rise in demand for services and increases in inflation.Around £54m of these pressures relate to adult and children social care services.The council still faces a £2m black hole due to the government's decision to increase national insurance.
'Things are hard'
The council is a coalition with no single party in overall control and Green Party Leader Douglas Johnson said all the parties had worked on the budget.He said: "The council is stable, it is not going to go bankrupt but things are hard and we are in a very difficult financial position. "We are 23% down on spending compared to 2010 and that is a huge cut in services."Liberal Democrat Leader Shaffaq Mohammed said: "Has Labour watched the BBC news and seen what is coming in a couple of weeks when the chancellor makes further cuts?"The next few years are going to be really challenging with national insurance increases, pressures on social care and international issues which will impact on this city."Officers said the council was planning to make savings but "robust action" was needed to contain financial pressures in the coming next year.The council tax rates households will pay for 2025/26:Band A: £1,352.66Band B: £1,578.10Band C: £1,803.55Band D: £2,028.99Band E: £2,479.88Band F: £2,930.76Band G: £3,381.65Band H: £4,057.98
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Scotsman
17 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Edinburgh council leader says having Cammy Day represent city 'made perfect sense'
Sending former council leader Cammy Day to represent Edinburgh to an international delegation earlier this month 'made perfect sense, ' according to the city's leader. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Along with fellow Labour councillor James Dalgleish and other city figures, Cllr Day met with 26 visiting councillors from Kaohsiung, Taiwan in Edinburgh. The news came at the city's Policy and Sustainability Committee on Tuesday, where council leader Jane Meagher said she put his name forward due to her being unable to attend. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cllr Day resigned his role as council leader in December last year over allegations he had sent sexual messages to Ukrainian refugees living in the Capital. He was also suspended by the Labour Party, but recently was readmitted to the party and their council group after he was cleared of any criminal behaviour by police in May. SNP councillor Kate Campbell raised questions over why Cllr Day was in attendance, given the 'widespread acknowledgement' that he had carried out inappropriate behaviour. Councillor Meagher said: 'I wasn't available for this, and it seemed to me to be a matter of common sense to include Councillor Day given his historical involvement and knowledge of our friendship agreement with [Kaohsiung]. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'For that reason, it made perfect sense for him to be there, to help smooth the path between Cllr Dalgleish and the delegation, which I gather was extremely powerful and helpful. 'It made perfect sense not to exclude somebody who had done a considerable amount of work in developing this friendship agreement with Taiwan.' Former council leader Cammy Day | supplied Cllr Campbell had also asked about two Edinburgh University representatives in the delegation who had been unable to attend at the last minute due to ill health. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said that she did not doubt that they were unwell, but asked whether a policy of notifying city partners of what councillors may be present at an event would be wise. Council officer Chris Adams, who covers international relationships, said that the two representatives had been unwell, but that he did not have any more information about them. Cllr Meagher added: 'As far as Edinburgh University attendance is concerned, I don't think we can draw any conclusions around their motives for not being able to attend. 'If we think about global politics, it might be that you draw conclusions related to that, rather than to any individuals who might be present.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A large portion of Edinburgh University's student body is from China, which does not recognise Taiwan as an independent country. Mr Adams said Cllr Dalgleish was in attendance at the meeting in his civic duty as a Bailie, a representative of the Lord Provost. And standing in for the Lord Provost, who was unable to attend, was another Bailie, James Douglas. He said the university attendees had been set to discuss the research connections between Edinburgh University and universities in Asia. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He also said James McVeigh from Festivals Edinburgh was also in attendance, and that much of the conversation in the meeting was around how Edinburgh handles the festivals. Cllr Meagher said she understood that the discussions were 'extremely powerful and helpful'. Edinburgh has a range of sister city and friendship agreements with cities around the globe, including Krakow, Dunedin, Kyiv and San Diego.


The Guardian
17 minutes ago
- The Guardian
How Labour can build a stronger British economy
If Rachel Reeves is serious about ensuring that Labour's second year in power is all about a stronger economy that rewards working people across the country (In our first year Labour fixed the foundations – now we must build a stronger economy for a renewed Britain, 13 August), she needs to rethink what your editorial called the UK's 'broken growth model' (6 August). The growth that Britain needs is an increase in economic activity that improves social and environmental infrastructure nationwide. This involves a huge increase in secure, well-paid jobs to rebuild a more resilient future economy. The last thing that is required is Reeves's obsession with more deregulation of the City and pressuring savers into investing in the stock market. What is needed instead is a massive increase in a socially and green-oriented bond market that will provide secure returns for savers. This will require intense pressure to be put on Reeves to shift her emphasis away from global financiers to recognising UK savers as saviours. She should make clear that in return for the tax breaks that those investing in Isas and pensions receive, a considerable percentage of such savings would be invested in green and social infrastructure projects. This would help tackle the climate crisis and rebuild our economy as well as the crumbling cohesion of our society. Colin HinesConvener, Green New Deal Group Rachel Reeves wants to solve Britain's productivity problem by kickstarting economic growth. Four decades ago, Britain decided to become a consumer economy when others chose to be investment economies. The mistake in tackling the fallout of the global financial crisis after 2008 was to slash capital spending at a time when money was cheap. The chaotic governments of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss created damaging uncertainty for investors. The world has become more uncertain, but political decisions also mean growth each year was on average twice as strong in the 16 years before the financial crisis than in the 16 years since, taxation as a proportion of GDP has reached historic highs and productivity is painfully weak. The chancellor needs to be bold and ambitious for Britain's economy. We must exploit the opportunities of the digital revolution, advance our skills base, join up government so that departments are all focused on growth and become a true investment economy at Stephen BarberUniversity of East London Rachel Reeves claims to have fixed the country's financial foundations in Labour's first year in office, but I am certain that the 4.5 million children still living in poverty, an increase of 100,000 from the previous year, wouldn't agree. At the same time, UK billionaires' wealth increased by £35m a day to £182bn, with Britain having the highest proportion of billionaire wealth derived from monopolies and cronyism among G7 Michael SymondsEmeritus professor, University of Nottingham No, you haven't 'fixed the foundations', chancellor. Where are the Labour values in 'renewal is our mission and productivity is our challenge'? Not a word about redressing the wealth gap between the rich and the poor; not a word about ending the two-child benefit cap; not a word about restoring the level of overseas aid. Rachel Reeves's article could have been written by George Osborne – and I for one fear what else that might entail for our dilapidated public space. It isn't good enough just to be wealthy – it's what you do with it and how fairly you spread it that counts. That is supposed to be the Labour D BryantPenarth, Glamorgan I find it disappointing that Rachel Reeves refers only to 'working people'. This indicates that she is not considering other groups such as pensioners, or those who cannot work either through disability or because of a lack of suitable jobs for which they are qualified. She refuses to target the super-rich, preferring to hit easy targets by keeping the two-child benefit cap, not raising tax thresholds (pushing more people into paying tax and higher tax) and targeting cash Isa allowances. Some people have had bad experiences with stocks and shares and are reluctant to risk their savings again. She has not learned at least two things from history: first, trickle-down economics does not work, as wealth floods into foreign tax havens, not to the less well off. And second, removing restrictions on the financial sector leads to people and financial organisations being overstretched and a banking EvesMold, Flintshire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.


Sky News
43 minutes ago
- Sky News
Two Labour-run councils 'considering all options' to challenge migrant hotel use
Two Labour-run councils have said they are considering taking legal action to stop the use of hotels to house migrants in their areas after Epping council won a temporary injunction on Tuesday. The leaders of Wirral and Tamworth councils both say they are considering their legal options in the wake of the Epping case, citing similar concerns about the impact of the hotels on their local communities. Epping Forest District Council won an interim High Court injunction to stop migrants from being accommodated at The Bell Hotel, after arguing its owners did not have planning permission to use it to house migrants. In a statement, Paula Basnett, the Labour leader of Wirral council, said: "Like many other local authorities, we have concerns about the Home Office's practice of placing asylum seekers in hotels without consultation or regard to local planning requirements. "We are actively considering all options available to us to ensure that any use of hotels or other premises in Wirral is lawful and does not ride roughshod over planning regulations or the wishes of our communities. "Wirral has always been proud of its record in supporting families and those fleeing conflict, but it is unacceptable for the government to impose unsuitable, short-term arrangements that disrupt communities and bypass local decision-making. "If necessary, we will not hesitate to challenge such decisions in order to protect both residents and those seeking refuge." Carol Dean, the Labour leader of Tamworth Borough Council, said she understands the "strong feelings" of residents about the use of a local hotel to house asylum seekers, and that the council is "listening to their concerns and taking them seriously". She pointed out that under the national Labour government, the use of hotels has halved from 402 to 210, with the aim of stopping the use of any hotels by the end of this parliament. 5:43 But she continued: "Following the temporary High Court injunction granted to Epping Forest District Council, we are closely monitoring developments and reviewing our legal position in light of this significant ruling." Cllr Dean added that they had previously explored their legal options to challenge the use of the hotel but decided against them, as temporary injunctions were not being upheld. However, the Epping ruling "represents a potentially important legal precedent", which is why they are "carefully assessing" its significance for Tamworth. 11:48 "We fully recognise the UK government has a statutory duty to accommodate people seeking asylum. However, we have consistently maintained that the prolonged use of hotel accommodation may not represent the best approach - either for our local community or for the asylum seekers themselves," she said. "We will continue to work constructively with government departments and all relevant agencies while making sure the voice of our community is heard at the highest levels of government." Last night, Conservative-run Broxbourne Council also announced it was exploring its legal options, and the Reform UK leader of Kent County said she was writing to fellow leaders in Kent to explore whether they could potentially take legal action as well. 6:18 Use of Epping hotel 'sidestepped public scrutiny' The prime minister and the home secretary are under huge pressure to clear the asylum backlog and stop using hotels across the country to house those waiting for their applications to be processed. Protests have sprung up at migrant hotels across the country. But The Bell Hotel in Epping became a focal point in recent weeks after an asylum seeker housed there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Epping Forest District Council sought an interim High Court injunction to stop migrants from being accommodated at the hotel, owned by Somani Hotels Limited, on the basis that using it for that purpose contravened local planning regulations. The interim injunction demanded that the hotel be cleared of its occupants within 14 days, but in his ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Eyre granted the temporary block, while extending the time limit by which it must stop housing asylum seekers to 12 September. Somani Hotels said it intended to appeal the decision, its barrister, Piers Riley-Smith, arguing it would set a precedent that could affect "the wider strategy" of housing asylum seekers in hotels. A government attempt to delay the application was rejected by the High Court judge earlier on Tuesday, Home Office barristers arguing the case had a "substantial impact" on the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, in performing her legal duties to asylum seekers. But Mr Justice Eyre dismissed the Home Office's bid, stating that the department's involvement was "not necessary". The judge said the hotel's owners "sidestepped the public scrutiny and explanation which would otherwise have taken place if an application for planning permission or for a certificate of lawful use had been made". He added: "It was also deliberately taking the chance that its understanding of the legal position was incorrect. This is a factor of particular weight in the circumstances of this case." Reacting to Tuesday's judgment, border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said the government will "continue working with local authorities and communities to address legitimate concerns".