BCP Council refuses to rule out tax rises as care costs deepen £27 million budget crisis
BCP Council warns that council tax may rise if departments fail to make savings of up to 20%
BCP Council has refused to rule out increasing council tax beyond 5% or raising charges for services as it battles to close a £27 million budget gap.
The council discovered during the first quarter of the financial year that it was heading towards a substantial overspend, driven largely by rising demand and costs in children’s and adult social care alongside reduced government funding.
The £27 million shortfall is spread across several departments, including £11.8 million in children’s services, £8.3 million in wellbeing and £6.8 million in operations, which covers parking and the seafront.
Councillor Mike Cox said the council had introduced strict “red” spending controls, including a vacancy freeze, tighter approval requirements for purchases and financial recovery measures.
Departments are also undergoing so-called “Star Chamber” reviews, with each being challenged to identify savings of 5%, 10% or even 20%.
“We’re in the process of going through that at the moment, to make sure that we’re squeezing every last pip,” Cllr Cox said.
The council had committed to finding £14 million of savings when setting its 2026/27 budget. It is now forecasting around £9.5 million, leaving an up to £5 million gap still to close.
Parking income has become part of the wider financial picture. Operations, which includes parking and seafront services, is already forecasting a £6.8 million overspend, adding pressure to commercially generated income at a time when the council is looking for every possible saving and source of revenue.
Cllr Cox said reserves were not currently being used, although he expected some could eventually be needed to deal with unforeseen costs.
The council wants to keep reserves around recommended levels and rebuild them if they temporarily fall below that threshold.
Asked whether a council tax increase above the current 4.99% maximum or higher service charges could be ruled out, Cllr Cox said: “We’re not ruling anything in and we’re not ruling anything out.”
He said he personally did not want to see an increase above 5%, but that the decision would depend on the council’s success in delivering efficiencies and balancing its budget.
The council is currently prioritising savings rather than service cuts, with statutory services such as social care facing the greatest demand.
The council said any future reductions were more likely to affect non-statutory services, which he described as “the fabric of our community”.