South Tyneside council tax rise and spending plans approved amid 'funding crisis'

South Tyneside councillors have signed off spending plans for next year which include council tax and rent hikes and millions of pounds of investment to help residents “live healthy, happy and fulfilled lives”.
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South Tyneside Council’s medium-term financial plan includes investment to support five core ambitions in its 20-year vision for residents.

This includes residents being financially secure, healthy and well throughout their lives, connected to jobs, skills and learning, part of strong communities and a fifth ambition of “targeting support to make things fairer”.

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As part of the 2023/24 budget approved this week, South Tyneside residents are expected to see a 4.95% rise in council tax to pay for core council services, as well as increased ‘precepts’ for police and fire and rescue services.

The budget was approved at a meeting at South Shields Town Hall.The budget was approved at a meeting at South Shields Town Hall.
The budget was approved at a meeting at South Shields Town Hall.

The council tax rise is made up of a 2.95% increase in core council tax and a 2% Government adult social care levy, which is ring fenced for social care services.

Councillor Joanne Bell, cabinet member for governance, finance and corporate services, said the council had to save £3.7million to balance the books in 2023/24, bringing the total amount saved since 2010 to around £190 million.

Despite a backdrop of high inflation and rising service demand, the senior councillor said budget plans would continue to protect frontline services while targeting investment into key areas to benefit residents.

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Councillors were told that the proposed council tax rise for council services would represent a £1.11 per week rise for Band A households, into which the majority of households fall.

Borough bosses also stressed that South Tyneside’s council tax would remain one of the lowest in the North East region and that more than 18,000 households in the borough would still benefit from council tax support.

South Tyneside Council’s ruling Labour Group presented the budget at a meeting on Thursday, February 23, at South Shields Town Hall.

Key investments included supporting residents through the cost of living crisis, continued support for food banks, extra staff to help combat poverty, boosting cyber defences and improving access to energy support schemes to help private homeowners access funding to make their homes warmer.

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The council’s capital programme set out continued investment into roads, footpaths, accessible playground equipment, housing stock, environmental and renewable energy schemes and the regeneration of South Shields, Hebburn and Jarrow.

Other investments included supporting more people to live at home, rather than having to enter residential care, in addition to strengthening teams dedicated to supporting people with learning disabilities or mental health issues.

In the budget plans, funding was earmarked for a major extra care accommodation programme delivering up to 300 new homes to help address the borough’s lack of specialist affordable accommodation options.

The council also aims to build new children’s homes in Jarrow and Hebburn, together with an ‘assessment centre’ in South Shields, as well as boosting provision at some over-subscribed schools.

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Other schemes included partnership work to deliver the relocation of South Tyneside College into South Shields town centre and further investment into the ongoing development of the International Advanced Manufacturing Park, which is expected to create more than 7,000 jobs.

Elsewhere, council bosses promised improved action on weeds and a team of ‘community engagement officers’ who will work with residents on issues ranging from waste and recycling to crime prevention, as well as continued investment into the borough’s Community Area Forums.

Although concerns were raised about the council’s high debt levels and the impact of a council tax rise on residents, no alternative budgets were presented by the council’s opposition groups.

Councillor Glenn Thompson, leader of the South Tyneside Alliance Group, welcomed the strategic aims and wider ambitions of the council, including the college relocation proposals, and said he hoped budget plans become a reality.

He told the meeting: “I fully support the ambitions, the vision [and] the plans but don’t let this just be words.

“Currently an awful lot is just that, big words in bright colours in big fonts on paper. I really hope we make this a reality for our residents”.

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The independent councillor and opposition leader also welcomed community engagement officers and said they represented the return of the previously scrapped ‘community wardens’.

Cllr Thompson added that the council’s debt levels and Labour Group’s financial management over recent decades had put the local authority in a position where it couldn’t afford to use cash to minimise council tax rises.

Councillor David Francis, Green Group leader, welcomed the budget’s commitment to improving energy efficiency, renewable energy schemes and external investment for communities through schemes such as ‘Stronger Shores’, which looks at biodiversity, coastal erosion and water quality.

The Green Party councillor argued that local government was facing a “funding crisis” that was “damaging communities” and that a fairer tax system was needed nationally.

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Cllr Francis added: “Tax is a necessary way of funding local services but we need a fairer system of taxation where those who can afford to pay, pay more, and we reduce the burden on our already stretched residents struggling through the cost of living crisis”.

The proposed budget was eventually approved with 47 votes in favour and independent councillor Keith Roberts abstaining from the vote.

A separate vote around increasing council rents by an average of 7%, in line with the latest Government rent policy guidance, was approved with 40 votes in favour, five against and two abstentions.

Green Party councillors either voted against or abstained from the vote, following concerns raised earlier in the meeting about the impact of rising council rents during the cost of living crisis.

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According to a report prepared for councillors, the rent rise will represent an average increase per week across all dwellings of £5.86 with effect from April 1, 2023.

Councillor Tracey Dixon, leader of South Tyneside Council, closed the debate on the budget before spending plans were put to the vote.

The council leader said the council’s strategy was “not just about words but delivering” and had a focus on helping residents through the cost of living crisis, improving their health and connecting locals to jobs.

In response to some opposition councillors’ comments, Cllr Dixon said community engagement officers had a wider remit than the previous community wardens.

This included providing direct support to businesses, assisting with events and promoting visitor and shopper footfall, as well as supporting a reduction in anti-social behaviour and enforcing public spaces protection orders.

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The council leader added the budget had been prepared using “evidence, insight and feedback” from thousands of people across the borough and that funding had been “directed towards addressing residents’ concerns”.

Cllr Dixon continued: “The three-year strategy approved by council last year charts our course through focusing upon five new core ambitions.

“Our new medium-term financial plan supports delivery of those ambitions in realising our overall vision for South Tyneside to be a place where people live healthy, happy and fulfilled lives.”

The budget meeting was broadcast on YouTube and is available to watch via South Tyneside Council’s website.