Today, Cornwall Council approved a budget to invest in residents' priorities and protect services for vulnerable children and older adults while keeping council tax bills among the lowest in the South West.

From April, the Cornwall Council element of council tax will rise by 1.99% plus an additional 3% for the Government precept for adult social care – equivalent to an extra £1.52 a week for the average property (band D).

Unitary authorities and county councils across the South West are set to increase their council tax by 4.99% due to pressures on local government funding and the need to safeguard essential services for residents.

The increase comes as Cornwall Council calls on the Government to stop pushing the rising costs of adult social care onto council taxpayers each year and introduce a long-term and sustainable funding solution.

At a full Council meeting today (February 23rd) councillors agreed on the latest business plan and budget which will see an extra £16 million a year invested to sustain social care services for vulnerable and older adults, on top of a £20 million uplift last year.

There will also be an additional £6 million annually injected into the Council's OFSTED 'outstanding' services for children, schools and families, as well as the introduction of a new waste service to help encourage residents to recycle more.

Savings in the budget include reducing business travel by 35%, cutting paper use by 37%, replacing streetlights with LED bulbs, and automating back-office processes.

The budget plan

• Investing more than £239 million in homes for local people, helping sustain the Council's record as one of the country's top councils for providing affordable homes.

• Investing over £180 million in connecting Cornwall with superfast broadband, better roads, and more safe spaces for walking and cycling.

• Giving children the best start in life, with more than £49m to repair school buildings and create more school places for children across Cornwall.

• Leading the fight against the climate emergency, with more than £18 million set aside for renewable energy and our climate action plan - including planting an 8,000-hectare Forest for Cornwall, retrofitting homes to improve energy efficiency, and installing electric vehicle charging points across Cornwall.

Earlier this month Cllr Julian German, Leader of Cornwall Council, called on Health Secretary Matt Hancock to end the annual council tax supplement, which has been added to bills annually since 2016 in the form of the Adult Social Care precept.

In the open letter Cllr German calls on Mr Hancock to bring forward a long-term sustainable funding package for social care in next week's March Budget and honour the Prime Minister's pledge to "fix social care once and for all."

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