A ten percent increase to Suffolk County Council's proposed budget for next year will be partly paid for by a council tax rise.

The council's budget is set to rise to £685m next year and most properties will pay 85p more a week in council tax under proposals published yesterday.

Cllr Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for finance and environment, said: "We knew when we were approaching this budget that this year it would be deeply challenging.

"The Covid pandemic and Putin's illegal war in Ukraine have caused massive global inflationary pressures and economic turbulence.

"Our budget proposals protect the services that people rely on the most and cares for the most vulnerable. Of every pound we spend, 75p goes towards services for these people.

"The extra money to adult and children's services is needed to meet the huge increase in demand for the services, as well as higher costs due to inflation.

"The chancellor allowed us to increase council tax by three percent and the adult social care precept to two percent, but we have chosen not to go all the way to five percent.

"We are taking four percent in total – two percent in council tax and two percent in the adult social care precept.

"For a band B property, which is the most common type in Suffolk, this will mean an increase of 85p per week."

Richard Rout

Adult community services is the area with the largest proposed budget, with an uplift of £34 million from last year resulting in a pot of around £324 million.

This is also the area with the highest amount of savings in the budget, worth around 13.6 million.

Savings include using technology to track and plan care visits more cost effectively, and reviewing contracts with providers of support for people with learning disabilities and autism to produce "better outcomes and the best value for money".

Total savings across all areas budgeted are worth £15.5million.

Andrew Stringer, leader of the Green, Liberal and Independents group of councillors, said: "The Suffolk Conservative administration has had opportunities for many years to steadily increase the council tax to prepare us for post-pandemic and post-Brexit.

"They rejected our group's proposal to retain more money for social care into the core budget.

"Now, we have an almost 4% Council Tax rise at the time when many more residents enter fuel poverty.

"Instead of a series of tiny rises, residents have been given a short time to cope with this Conservative lead sharp rise."

Children's services will benefit from a £13 million increase to its budget, taking it to £150.9m.

A £700,000 pot will be given to support new recruitment in SEND services, £500,000 will go to highways and £110,000 to tree management.

A budget of £45,000 will be distributed across Citizens Advice Bureaux, taking the total given from the county council to £165,000.

A £64,000 cut to the amount budgeted for citizens advice by the county council was made in 2019/2020. The amount proposed for next year falls nearly £20,000 short of what was given before – in 2018/19.

The proposed budget will be discussed at the council's scrutiny meeting on January 10 2023, then presented at the cabinet meeting on January 24.

The final budget will be debated and voted on at full council on February 9.

The Scrutiny meeting will be available to stream on Suffolk County Council's YouTube channel, and public questions can be submitted in advance. Details are available at: www.suffolk.gov.uk.