Huge cuts and a 3.99% tax rise: Wolverhampton council budget branded 'worst of all worlds'

It means people living in the city will face a 3.99 per cent increase in their council tax payments from April.

Those living in Band D band properties will now pay £1,591.87 over the year, once charges from the West Midlands Fire Authority and West Midlands Police have been added.

Meanwhile, £3.75m will be cut from the children and young people budget as part of a redesign – with other services being axed or dramatically scaled down.

A further £7m has been cut from 'base' budgets across various council services, on top of the £12.7m savings measures. In total the authority needs to find £54m of savings by 2019/20.

The council's ruling Labour group hit out at the UK government and George Osborne in particular throughout a full council meeting held on Wednesday evening when the 2016/17 budget was formally rubber-stamped.

Half of the 3.99 percent rise in council tax – a two per cent adult social care precept – was said to be the Chancellor's 'responsibility'.

Introduced in last year's Autumn Statement, it gives local authorities the option of raising the tax by two per cent above any ordinary hike on condition it is spent on adult social care, one of the biggest expenses councils face.

Council Leader Roger Lawrence said: "While it is welcome in terms of being able to provide a bit more funding for adult social care, I have to say, frankly, it is a callous act.

"The Government has realised it has not put enough money into social care over the years and that it has cut funding to local councils. Rather than deal with it themselves by giving us more money they have instead 'allowed' us to raise this tax on the people of Wolverhampton.

"Lest anyone think it is up to us to turn the option down, the government's own figures assume every council is going to raise this two percent levy.

"I believe that at the moment 90 per cent of councils have already approved it or have suggested they are likely to approve it."

Other cuts pushed through included the removal of grants from various groups including the Grand Theatre and Lighthouse Media Centre. There are also cuts to roads maintenance and plans to replace street lights with more efficient technology.

Ahead of the meeting several saving measures initially proposed for the 2016/17 budget were put back including plans to charge for the use of public toilets.

And West Park Conservatory and Bilston Craft Gallery will continue to run as they are while the council explores ways to make both venues commercially viable.

Conservative councillor Andrew Wynne said the budget was the 'worst of all worlds'.

He added: "This is another above inflation council tax rise. It was not long ago we said if we are not careful the council tax on a Band D home would breach £1,000. It is now £1,500.

"And what do council tax payers expect for their money? They expect effective services, a clean environment, sporting offerings – not necessarily delivered by the council but facilitated by it. They expect the city centre to be built on.

"Does this budget actually address or deal with any of those issues? We on this side of the chamber say no. What it does do is cut frontline services and there will be more coming further down the line."

There was also criticism from Tory councillors about the council's level of borrowing.

But the Labour cabinet's finance chief, councillor Andrew Johnson, said it was more than covered by the authority's assets.

He explained: "Yes, we have borrowing of around £588m and yes, we have to make interest payments on that, but we need to be mindful that £209m of that is paid off though council tenants paying rent. Our assets are actually £1,026m. The assets far exceed our actual borrowing. These assets are schools, they are roads, they are parks.

"So in one respect I agree we must seek where possible to draw borrowing down but equally, where we have invested in projects like i10, it will bring in income for the council for many, many years."

Councillor Lawrence added it 'was not all doom and gloom'. He said: "We have seen the impact of this council's capital investment.

"At i54, with our colleagues in South Staffordshire, we have built a motorway junction. There has been 4,000 jobs created on that site.

"That will not cost the tax payer a penny as it will be paid out of business rates which – had it not been built – those businesses would not have been there."

The budget was approved with 44 voting in favour and eight abstentions.