A £150 million budget including a ‘tough’ 4.98 per cent council tax increase has been approved.

The Labour-run council’s medium-term financial plan, revenue budget and capital programme was passed by councillors in a vote during the virtual full council meeting today, Monday.

But the Liberal Democrat opposition group voted against it, along with Conservative Cllr Kath Buckley and independent Cllr Geoff Fellows.

The 4.98 per cent rise includes a three per cent adult social care precept.

It will see the average Band D household be charged £1,863.16 for the year.

These charges will be made up of £1,567.67 from the borough council, £214.63 from Cheshire Police Authority and £80.86 from Cheshire Fire Authority.

The overall sum for a Band D household rises to £1,898.31 in areas with a parish council.

Over the past year, the average Band D taxpayer in areas without parish councils has paid £1,777.02.

Deputy council leader Cllr Cathy Mitchell highlighted the impact of austerity and slammed Government cuts since 2010.

She said Warrington has one of the lowest council tax rates in north west.

“Local government finance is at breaking point,” she said.

“At least 12 councils in the country, led by all the different party leaderships, are in financial trouble and CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) predict that number will go up in 2021.

Warrington Guardian:

Cllr Cathy Mitchell

“Thanks to the enterprising approach taken by Warrington and the hard work of our staff and members, we are not in that category.

“The challenge remains high but it’s a challenge we can meet.”

Although they supported the ‘tough’ decision to increase council tax to help protect essential services, the Liberal Democrats voted to reject the overall budget because of a lack of clarity about the impact of the proposed cuts on the public.

The party’s finance spokesman Cllr Ian Marks, a former council leader, said austerity went on for ‘far too long’.

He says: “The Government has thrown money at councils but not enough to cover the extra costs of Covid.

“Much of the money is more to do with what is called ‘pork barrel politics’.

“It is especially galling for the Government to give the impression they have given an extra three per cent to increase social care funding. It is nothing of the kind.

“All they have done is pushed the extra cost directly on to council taxpayers.”

 Cllr Bob Barr, leader of the town’s Liberal Democrats, labelled the budget as ‘largely opaque’ and said there has been little attempt by the administration to explain and justify its implications.

Conservative Warrington South MP Andy Carter says when he has secured additional funds for the council, it ‘disappears into a black hole with no explanation’ of where it has been spent.

He added: “Warrington Council have had a real terms increase for the forthcoming year, the most generous increase in over a decade.

“With Warrington Labour, however much extra they’re allocated, it’s never going to be enough.

“Councillors have tonight voted for to increase council tax by 4.98 per cent, just under the maximum permitted at a time when family finances are under incredible pressure as a result of the pandemic.

“Many Conservative councils around the UK have frozen council tax increases, particularly as the level of inflation is so low.

“When you look at Labour’s track record in Warrington over the last five years we’ve seen council tax locally go up by almost 30 per cent, costing a family in a Band D household around £360 more.

“At the same time we’ve seen important local services like the Broomfields Leisure Centre unable to operate because of the terrible state of repair.

“Labour’s economic policy was soundly rejected at the last general election, what’s happening in Warrington is a microcosm of what Jeremy Corbyn proposed – higher taxes, eye watering levels of debt and cuts to local facilities.

“The country rejected Corbyn’s magic money tree in December 2019, let’s hope they do the same to Warrington Labour at the local election on May 6.”

Cllr Mitchell says the Conservative Government has cut funding to communities by slashing 60p in the £1 of central funding to local government since 2010.

She said: “The Conservatives always cut public services and they will do that again if they are given the chance in Warrington.

“Warrington has now lost the equivalent of over £1,800 of funding per household.

“We are one of the most poorly funded councils in the country and have one of the lowest council tax rates in the north west.”