Council tax in Dorset to rise by maximum for third year running

The Conservative-led authority say they have little option over a 3 per cent increase, given the unfair treatment of the county in rate support grant by the Government. Dorset gets nothing while almost all its neighbours do.

READ MORE: South Dorset MP calls for fairer distribution of Revenue Support Grant

Cllr Nick Ireland speaking at Dorset Council budget meeting Picture Trevor Bevins

Liberal Democrat leader on the council, Nick Ireland, told Tuesday evening’s budget meeting that for a decade all the county’s MPs have been Conservative, but they have never been able to increase rate support grant to the authority.

He said that as long as Dorset voters returned Conservative MPs with big majorities the county’s financial situation would continue.

“Every year we are told our council government funding is inequitable – yet this Tory administration does nothing about it,” he claimed.

Weymouth Conservative councillor Tony Ferrari countered the allegation – saying that millions of Government money had been poured into Dorset, including through the Environment Agency, which is paying more than £100m for sea defence work in Weymouth.

Cllr Spencer Flower speaking at Dorset Council budget meeting Picture Trevor Bevins

Green, Labour and Independent councillors told the meeting that with rising inflation, increased fuel bills and National Insurance payments, together with other cost increases, many of the county’s residents would suffer in the months to come and the council ought to consider a small increase, or no increase at all.

Cllr Beryl Ezzard called for the £4.4million being put aside for the coming year for ‘contingencies’ to be used to reduce the council tax bill.

Cllr Gary Suttle, who has led the budget process, said that while he was sympathetic the finances from April onwards were so tightly balanced that there was no room for manoeuvre. He warned that even the slightest change could blow budget plans off course and the council would need to continue making savings where it could. He described the budget proposals as ‘prudent’ and said that, unlike many authorities, Dorset was able, through good housekeeping, to set a balanced budget.

His figures allow for further investment in adult social care and children’s services, the two areas which make up the majority of council spending; £13m of new spending for housing and an additional £750,000 for climate change work, together with a £10m climate change capital budget.

Council leader Cllr Spencer Flower said that had the authority not been able to make £30million in savings by bringing previous councils together in 2019 the situation might have been much worse. “There is still much to do but we are on the right track and moving forward at pace,” he said, pledging to continue lobbying the Government for a better financial deal.

“Dorset deserves a better deal – for too long it has been treated unfairly,” he said.

The new rates will increase the Dorset Council share of council tax to £1,832.67 for the ‘average’ Band D home – a rise of £1.02p per week.

Once other precept amounts, for police; fire and rescue and parish or town councils are added the majority of Band D homes will be paying more than £2,000 a year in council tax.

The new rate is made up of a general council tax increase of 1.998% and 0.996% in the social care precept - an overall increase of 2.994%.