Bolsover Council set to increase council tax share by 2.99 per cent and tenants’ rent by 2.7 per cent

The Labour-controlled authority’s resource portfolio holder, Coun Clive Moesby, said the 2024-25 financial year had shown a balanced budget with neither a surplus or a deficit but an amount of £0.177m would have to be added to the general fund budget for 2024-25 to ensure the general fund remains balanced.

And as part of the council’s latest budget plans for the forthcoming 2025-26 financial year, from April 1, a council tax increase of 2.99per cent has been approved to be levied for the authority’s part of the bill which would be equivalent to £6.07 for a notional Band D property.

The 2.7per cent increase means a weekly increase of £2.50 and an annual increase of £130 on average for social rent, and a £3.49 weekly increase and a £181.48 annual increase on average for affordable rent.

Coun Deborah Watson (Ind) said: “I cannot support any rise in council tax that takes us up to 2028-29 because one thing we do know is that Bolsover Council won’t exist then.”

But Coun Moesby told the meeting the council has a statutory duty to increase its part of the council tax and that he did not think it would be great financial management if the council failed to do so.

He said: “We do not quite know what the outcome of what this reform will be and it would be remiss of me not to take this into consideration.”