Budget and Council Tax 2024/25

This includes £264m for schools which will be met by dedicated government grants, and £65m on the provision of Council housing which is met primarily from rent income. After taking account of income from fees and charges and a number of specific grants the 2024/25 net revenue budget for Council services has been set at £336m.

What is the Cost of Providing Services

Almost 61% of the Council’s planned spend is on the provision of services supporting the most vulnerable residents living in the borough. Other significant planned spend includes £31.6m for waste collection and disposal services and £21m on public transport related services.

Positive Investments

One-off available resources of £0.700m have been identified to support the delivery of Council priorities in 2024/25 including:

• The continuation of partnership working with VCFSE Trusted Partners, food network and strategic investment supporting vulnerable residents struggling with the impact of cost of living increases;
• Continuing the additional holiday activity and food programme (HAF) investment to ensure essential school holiday food and activity support continues to be provided in 2024/25. This investment will help extend HAF to half terms in May, October, and February in addition to existing plans for Easter, Summer and Winter;
• Supporting investment in the maintenance of the borough’s drainage infrastructure network including the purchase of a gully cleaning vehicle and parking enforcement. Any resources available following this investment will be used to improve road safety across the borough; and
• Completing an independent review of the management of Stockport’s housing stock.

How is the Council Funded?

Council Tax is an important part of the Council’s general resources that fund the planned spend on the provision of services. 57.9% of the Council’s resources is from Council Tax income (including the Adult Social Care Precept).

For 2024/25 Government set the limit for increasing Council Tax before triggering a local referendum at 4.99%. Government continues to place a heavy reliance on local taxation to fund local services and assumes councils will increase Council Tax by the maximum allowable increase in its calculation of councils’ core spending power (the amount of resources Government calculates that each council needs to deliver local services). In addition, the Adult Social Care Precept has become embedded in Government’s funding allocation to support the increasing costs of social care services to vulnerable residents.

The Council has to balance the need to minimise the impact of Council Tax increases on residents whilst ensuring the council’s financial sustainability over the medium-term period. In doing this, it is recognised that a Council Tax increase below the 4.99% maximum allowable increase, results in forgone income. This is income that Government expects the council to collect to fund the provision of local services.

Following careful consideration, Council Tax will increase by 4.99% in 2024/25. Of this, 2% relates to the increase to the ‘Adult Social Care Precept’ to provide the Council with funding to meet the increasing cost of providing adult social care services to vulnerable residents across the Borough. Council Tax income will total £194.6m (including the Adult Social Care Precept). For a ‘Band D equivalent’ property in Stockport a 4.99% increase set by the Council equates to a Council Tax charge of £1,977.39 in 2024/25, a £93.98 annual increase.

The Council is also required to collect a Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner Precept and the Mayoral General (including Fire Services) Precept on behalf of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). Increases in these Precepts are set by the Mayor and result in an increase in Council Tax in excess of the 4.99% increase set by the Council. The Council Tax charge for a ‘Band D equivalent’ property in Stockport (including precepts) is £2,346.64 in 2024/25, a £111.98 annual increase.

The table below shows the Council Tax charge and annual increase for each band including the precepts.

In addition to Council Tax, around £93.7m of the net expenditure will be funded by Business Rates income. This is almost 28% of the Council’s total resources in 2024/25.

2024/25 Capital Programme

The Council has ambitious capital investment plans for the Borough to help regenerate the local economy, create jobs and develop strong communities. Future
capital investment plans are extensive and varied and the Capital Strategy and
three-year Capital Programme will enable significant improvements to the Council’s
infrastructure, deliver new housing and boost the local economy.

The Council’s 2024/25 three-year Capital Programme is £263m in total and includes capital schemes to deliver capital plans as follows:

• Highways and Infrastructure – this includes capital schemes: Stockport Interchange, Cheadle Railway Station, Street Lighting Investment Programme and Merseyway Car Park Waterproofing;
• Housing – this includes capital schemes to support the programme of housing general capital works and the Affordable Housing Programme; and
• Regeneration – this includes capital schemes to support the regeneration of the Town Centre and District Centres including major schemes to support the regeneration of Weir Mill, Stockport Exchange, Merseyway redevelopment work and the Markets and Underbanks regeneration scheme.

The Capital Programme is funded by capital grants and contributions from Government and other third parties, revenue contributions to capital spend and borrowing.

Further details of the Council’s budget, including details of the Council Tax and Precepts, are available on the Council’s website at www.stockport.gov.uk/counciltax.

Michael Cullen

Deputy Chief Executive