4.7% council tax rise for North Lincolnshire residents
The 2026/27 budget has been approved
A council tax rise for households in North Lincolnshire has been agreed. For the second year in a row, North Lincolnshire residents will face a higher rise in their council tax bills than compared with North East Lincolnshire.
The ruling Conservative administration successfully moved for a council tax rise of 4.7 per cent. This is made up of 2.7 per cent on core council tax and two per cent on the adult social care precept.
The rise is lower than last years, but still represents one of the highest increases in North Lincolnshire in recent years. The opposition Labour group did not succeed with their proposal for no rise on core council tax, and just the two per cent adult social care precept, based off of using some of the council’s reserves to cover it.
Council leader Cllr Rob Waltham (Conservative – Brigg and Wolds Ward) argued the Conservatives had “set a budget that focuses on responsibility”, including responsibility to protect the most vulnerable in the community and a responsibility to invest in the long-term. “We are pleased to be able to announce that we will be adding an extra 200 special needs places in local schools,” he said, later clarifying around a hundred of these are already being created.
Other elements in the council’s budget include:
- £20m in highways improvements from April.
- A £3m grant pot for rural communities, set to be called the ‘Rural Enhance and Prosper Fund’.
- Multi-million pound leisure refurbishment at The Pods and Riddings, and Quibell Park running track.
- Funding to complete the Burringham Bypass.
- The council’s tree planting target has been increased to 750,000.
“We are keeping our promise to keep council tax as low as possible,” he said. He argued national government “has increased the costs facing the council”.
“We will protect frontline services. We will maintain financial sustainability, and we will not hollow out essential support to manufacture a headline.”
Labour opposition group leader Cllr Len Foster (Brumby) took a different view of Government support for the council. “Despite the rhetoric and blue tint that goes with it from the controlling group, this year’s level of support from the Government is without a doubt unprecedented over the last decade.”
The Government has told councils what money they can expect from it for the next three years. Via a fair funding review, it has also reallocated cash to councils, with deprived areas getting boosted funding. North Lincolnshire Council has seen an uplift of 3.1 per cent, excluding council tax calculations.
Cllr Darryl Southern (Frodingham) said, “it’s hard to look any resident in the eye and justify a tax increase” when they felt their area was missing out. Labour councillors repeatedly suggested throughout the budget meeting that rural areas were being favoured with funding, particularly over pothole fixing.
While increasing the adult social care precept was “absolutely necessary”, said Labour group deputy leader Cllr Andrea Davison (Ashby Central), she argued for a freeze on core council tax to help residents. “We know that all of our residents are struggling,” she said, referring to cost of living pressures.
Cllr Waltham said he could not support Labour’s proposed budget “for many reasons”. He argued central government’s allocation did not give the room to give a core council tax freeze.
“It’s a damaging way to run local government finances,” he also said of keeping council tax frozen, based on revenue impacts in future years. “And you did it 10 years on the trot,” interrupted Cllr Foster, referring to low council tax rises before 2025 in North Lincolnshire.
Labour’s amendment failed by 24 votes to 14, with the Conservatives passing their budget by the same margin.