Cornwall Council has approved its budget for the coming year which includes raising council tax bills by 2.99%.

There was a long and heated debate in the council chamber at County Hall in Truro yesterday with the Conservative administration subjected to heavy criticism from all opposition groups.

But deputy leader David Harris said that the budget had been drawn up in difficult circumstances and said that it was important for the council to prepare for the future.

He said that the budget proposals were aligned to the council's priorities – these are to make Cornwall:

• A brilliant place to be a child and grow up.
• In a thriving, sustainable Cornwall that offers a secure home, a decent income and a great environment for all.
• Within vibrant, safe, supportive communities where people help each other live well.
• All supported by an empowering and enterprising Council that offers a consistently excellent customer experience and great value for money.

Cllr Harris explained that the council's share of council tax would increase by 2.99% which includes a 1% levy to fund adult social care, the council's biggest area of expenditure. The tax rise is equivalent to an extra 96p a week for a Band D property. The council's budget plans also include investing an extra £45million into adult social care and the council has capital investment plans worth £1.4billion over the next four years. Cllr Harris said: "The biggest challenge we face, all of us face, is that the cost of delivering services is increasing faster than the money we receive to provide the services that people require." The budget also includes plans to save £60m over the coming year, which Cllr Harris admitted was three times higher than the previous year. Previous council savings plans have not been achieved and Cllr Harris said that a new reserve was being created putting aside £11m which would be used to cover any savings which are not reached. Under the budget plans more than 400 jobs will be cut at the council and Cllr Harris said that this was "regrettable". Cllr Harris admitted that some of the savings being made by the council would have a negative impact but he said that he was convinced that impact would be mitigated in the longer term. Adam Paynter from the Independent group said that he and his colleagues were "very disappointed" by the budget plans and would not support them. He said the plans include "huge job cuts and reductions across most services which will damage the council's ability to get things done". Cllr Paynter, who was deputy leader in the last administration, said that the job cuts had been a blow to staff morale at a time when council staff had worked hard to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. He also questioned whether the budget was in line with the administration's priorities saying: "Putting children's lives at risk by reducing social workers? Hardly a great place to grow up." And he said that the decision to create new reserve funds could have instead been used to cut council tax rises at a time when Cornish people are facing a cost of living crisis. Liberal Democrat group leader Edwina Hannaford accused the Conservatives of breaking election promises. She said that claims before last May's elections that having a Conservative controlled council, Conservative MPs and a Conservative Government would help Cornwall had not materialised. Cllr Hannaford said: "There was the promise that alignment of the council, MPs and Government that money would flow into Cornwall. The Prime Minister promised replacement EU funding of £100m. The administration didn't bother applying for the first round of Levelling Up funding and we will only get £3m this year. This is levelling down, not levelling up. Why is the administration letting the Government off the hook?" Cllr Hannaford had proposed an alternative budget which would provide £400,000 for a fuel poverty voucher scheme to help Cornish people affected by the rise in energy prices. The Cabinet accepted this proposal and has included it in the existing council tax hardship fund which helps residents struggling to pay their council tax. Cllr Hannaford said she was grateful for them taking her suggestion on board but said she was still concerned about the impact the budget would have on people struggling with their finances. Dick Cole, leader of Mebyon Kernow, said that his group and Green councillors would not support the budget. He highlighted that last year the Conservatives, when in opposition, had expressed outrage about the budget for 2021/22 and plans to raise council tax by the maximum amount. But 12 months on the Conservative run council was now also proposing a maximum hike in council tax and were presenting a "budget which is worse than the last one". He said that his group "strongly rejects" the narrative of the administration that it inherited a poor financial situation and said that the fault lay in the Government reducing funding for local councils. "It is greatly underfunded and it has suffered a decade of savage cuts from a Government of the same colour as the administration." He added: "Cornwall is missing out and local government in Cornwall is missing out. That needs to change. "When the Conservatives won the election they said it was the start of a big new adventure for Cornwall. Therefore there is a massive obligation and responsibility for the Conservative administration and MPs to deliver for the people of Cornwall. There can be no excuses, but it is not happening." Labour group leader Jayne Kirkham described the budget as a "bonfire with £59m of service cuts and £18m of job cuts and a maximum council tax rise". She added: "It is not the vision of joined up Conservatives in Cornwall that voters were promised." Cllr Kirkham said that while the council was highlighting £45m being invested into adult social care they were also having to make £22m of savings in the same service. The budget plans were approved by the council with 48 votes in favour and 30 against. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter below to get the top 10 Falmouth stories of the week delivered straight to your inbox every Friday! No click-bait. No intrusive ads. Just news about Falmouth. [H3] See the latest news on our Twitter and Facebook pages. [.H2]