York council tax, rents and fees to soar – and city still has to make £8m in cuts

A council tax rise of 4.99 per cent – along with cuts and savings totalling nearly £8 million – were approved at a full council meeting in York last night (Thursday).

Council leader Cllr Keith Aspden said the authority was facing “incredibly challenging times” as the Liberal Democrat-Green administration’s proposal for 2023/24 was voted through.

Council rents will also rise by seven per cent, while fees and charges for services like waste disposal and parking also rising by as much as ten per cent.

The 4.99% increase in the City of York Council element of the council tax is the maximum permitted.

Cllr Aspden said the budget ensured the council could continue to provide key services, despite Covid, the war in Ukraine and wider economic turmoil piling pressure on its finances and those of residents.

The budget will see cash invested in adult and children’s social care, with targeted support also available for those struggling with the cost of living crisis.

Support for vulnerable adults and children swallows up more than half the council’s budget however, so these departments will also see cuts.

Cllr Mark Warters, independent, told residents: “You are being asked to pay more to get less services – again.”

Deputy leader Cllr Andy D’Agorne said: “This is the best budget we can set in these very challenging times.”

‘Wasteful spend’

The Labour group abstained on the vote after their budget amendment was voted down.

It included £100,000 in seed funding to kick-off their plans to provide free school meals for all York school children and £30,000 to look at how to reverse the city’s controversial blue badge ban.

Group leader Cllr Claire Douglas said it was a “flavour of what is to come” should Labour win power in the May local elections.

“We would run the council based on the needs of the whole city rather than just those of specific wards,” she said.

With only two councillors, the Conservative group did not submit a budget amendment, but group leader Cllr Paul Doughty voted against the council’s budget.

He said: “The cost of living means the council needs to be much better at controlling its wasteful spend.”

There had been “a relentless raid on the pockets of the citizens of York for the largest possible council tax increase”, Cllr Doughty added.

Cllr Apsden said: “The budget will ensure we can continue to provide the services which matter most to York’s residents, from protecting the most vulnerable in our city, investing in our communities, delivering affordable homes, fixing the city’s roads and investing in York’s future, as well as addressing the most pressuring challenges of today providing cost of living support and funding to address local safety concerns.”