A COUNCIL tax increase of 3.97% has been agreed by Cornwall Council.

The council has set a budget which it says ‘will protect front line services from the impact of further Government cuts, provide an additional £27-million for supporting vulnerable people and invest more than £850-million in schemes to improve road, rail and bus services, create jobs and build new affordable homes for local people over the next four years’.

Introducing the budget and business plan at last week’s meeting of the council, leader John Pollard said the authority was continuing to face significant financial pressures as a result of cuts in Government funding.

He said: “The council has been fiscally prudent and we have a resilient forward plan.

”We do have to cope with the cuts in funding from central government, but by doing things in a different way in co-operation with our partners, we have the opportunity to build a different Cornwall. Today’s budget proposals maintain our four-year strategy to best serve the public we represent.”

The council said the aim of the budget is to deliver the priorities identified in its strategy to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, protect essential services such as public transport and road maintenance, and invest in new homes and infrastructure, at the same time as delivering the £40-million savings it said were forced on the authority as a result of reductions in the grant from the Government.

Last year the council set a four-year budget and business plan, which included a 1.97% increase in the Cornwall Council element of council tax for 2016/2017.

This increase would have meant a 49p a week increase (£25 a year) for a Band D property.

Since then the Government has suggested councils raise council tax by a further 2% to help fund the pressures facing adult social care services.

Introducing the ‘Social Care Precept’ in Cornwall will increase overall spending on adult social care services from the current level of £116-million a year to £143-million by 2019/20 (a 23% increase).

The 2% council tax increase, which means an additional 50p per week increase for a Band D property, provides an extra £4.7-million for adult social care in 2016/2017.

Other proposals approved by members at the meeting included a £1-million one-off investment to help support the transformation of one stop shops and libraries, and £855-million capital investment in schemes to improve transport links, including the A30 at Temple, to build new homes and help grow the local economy.

The council had previously been facing an additional £6-million cut in its grant following the Government’s decision to redistribute funding from rural to urban areas.

However, following representations from a number of rural authorities, including Cornwall Council, over the past two weeks, the Government announced it was providing more money for rural areas. As a result the council will receive an additional £2.9-million one-off funding in 2016/17.

A council spokesperson said: “While this funding has been welcomed, it does not reduce the overall level of Government funding cuts in the long term which, together with increasing pressures on key services, means the authority needs to save £103-million over the next four years.”

The budget approved includes taking £12-million from the council’s general reserves to help cushion the impact of the additional cuts and protect front line services from further reductions.

Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor for Launceston North and North Petherwin, also the cabinet member for resources and deputy leader of the council, Adam Paynter said: “We are using reserves to smooth the budget and prevent the need to make further cuts in essential services.

“We are also using the new powers granted by the Government to raise council tax by 2% to provide much needed money for our adult social care services to support vulnerable people in Cornwall.”

“Despite the one off additional funding announced by the Government we are still facing significant financial pressures. We are, however, in a much stronger position than many other authorities thanks to our budget planning over the past few years.

“We have worked hard to become more efficient and effective by restructuring the council and delivering services in different ways. We are also working with town and parish councils, local residents and the voluntary and community sector to give communities more say in the running of their local services.

“The additional powers and freedoms we have been given under the Devolution Deal means we will have much greater control over how public monies are spent in Cornwall. As a result we have been able to set a budget which will protect front line services at the same time as working with partners to provide investment of up to a £1-billion from public, private and European funding to improve Cornwall’s housing, transport, environment, culture and the economy over the next five years.”

The overall budget set last week also includes the precepts set by town and parish councils in Cornwall. The town and parish council precepts for 2016/2017 total £18,549,999, with an average Band D property charge of £101.62.

Cllr Paynter added: “Many town and parish councils across Cornwall are going through a period of transformation and are raising their precepts to support the delivery of an ambitious range of services and projects for their local communities in their own right.

“Over 60 communities either have or are currently developing their neighbourhood plans, with many also developing community emergency plans. Cornwall Council is also working with councils across Cornwall to support their plans for greater devolved powers and town and parish councils are delivering some exciting and ground breaking local projects, ranging from providing community transport to low-carbon initiatives and from running a community shop to working with young people.”

The budget also includes the precept recommended by the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner.

The total police precept of £99,338,238 results in a Band D charge of £172.84. This 1.99% increase is below the 2% threshold for a referendum set by the Government.