Bradford council tax rise of nearly 10% 'will hit us hard'
Council tax is set to rise by nearly 10% in Bradford after the government approved a request from the local authority.The Labour-run council had submitted a bid to increase bills by 14.99% in 2025-26 but was only given consent for a 9.9% hike - the highest rise in the country.The council said the proposed rise - which will be put to councillors next month - would reduce borrowing costs and help protect services.But opposition politicians have said the authority's problems were of its own making.
Friends Maryam Sultan and Ujala Aftab were out with friends in Centenary Square, in the shadow of the historic City Hall, where decisions about public spending are made.Maryam said that although the council's reasoning for raising local taxes sounded "fair enough", she felt the public "continually pays for the mistakes of those higher up"."I think it's going to hit people quite hard," she said.Her friend Ujala, meanwhile, said she already paid a "horrendous" amount of council tax and was worried she would have to dip into her savings to make ends meet. "I'm fuming," she added.
Sue Wilde, who has lived in Bradford for more than 40 years, said she was resigned to hearing about "just another increase in bills"."Services are getting cut so we're actually paying more for less," she said."Then there are water bills going up, gas and electric are going up, but our wages aren't going up by 10 or 15%."Naseer Kaleemulla, who works in the new One City Park building, said the rise was making him think twice about relocating from Leeds to Bradford.He currently lives in a Band C property paying around £160 a year, but would have to consider living in a smaller home if he moved to Bradford."There has been a spike in groceries, spike in bills, an increase in bus fares, " he said.
Bradford Council's executive will meet to finalise its budget proposals later in the month.According to the council, the increase in tax will help the authority avoid significant borrowing costs - but it still needs to save £40m next year and a further £50m a year for the following four years.Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said the council had asked for the one-off increase "really reluctantly" and the government had "reluctantly agreed"."We are between a rock and a hard place really," she said."We have really agonised about this decision."
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said that "off the scale" pressure on adult and children's services was a major factor."What isn't fair is that Bradford Council and many across the country were not funded correctly," she said.Ms Brabin said changes made by the Labour government would mean the system would be fairer and based on need."It can't be right that there is equality of funding for green leafy areas and areas of deprivation and challenge," she said.
But not all politicians in the city agree.Rebecca Poulsen, leader of the opposition Conservative group, admitted finances had been "challenging".But she said it was only after the authority's children's services department faced a £49m overspend on support for vulnerable young people that things had "spiralled out of control"."It's basically choices made by the Labour administration," she said. "They are making excuses and not taking any responsibility."Bradford Green group leader Matt Edwards said: "Simply asking us to pay more council tax won't fix the problem. "Local government needs to be funded properly if we are to get the services we all deserve."And Liberal Democrat group leader Brendan Stubbs accused the Labour executive of "blaming everyone but themselves for the council's financial collapse".He said they were "forcing residents to pay the price" and added: "It is totally shameless."Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
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