Dorset Council criticises local government funding settlement
Concerns raised over reliance on council tax to fund services
Dorset Council has expressed disappointment over the provisional 3-year local government financial settlement announced last week, which it says does not provide the level of funding needed for the county.
According to the council, while the settlement offers greater certainty of income over the next three years, it places pressure on councils like Dorset to increase council tax to its maximum level to maintain services.
Councillor Simon Clifford, Cabinet Portfolio member for Finance and Capital Strategy, described the settlement as another let-down.
“On paper, it looks like we got an extra £25.9m in funding – but in reality, £24.1m of that is extra council tax,” he said.
“We asked for fairer funding for a rural county with an ageing population needing social care support. We need investment to improve transport and to boost schools. We hoped to have had good news that would give Dorset residents better services and more help to support vulnerable people.
“Sadly, we have been let down – again. The government has even removed the extra funding we were hoping for to recognise that it is more expensive to provide services in a very rural county.
“It means that once again rural councils like Dorset are being left behind, having to increasingly rely on getting income from council tax rather than funding from central government.
“The government expects us to increase council tax by 4.99% each year. We essentially no longer have any choice in this.”
Despite these challenges, the council says it will continue with prudent planning and expects to set a balanced budget for 2026/27.
Details of financial measures and savings will be published in January.