20/02/2024 - Council sets budget despite lack of government funding

 The coming year will see us investing in key areas where we are coming under increasing pressure:

Following a successful investment in Luton’s roads last year, we will continue to make further improvements to our vital highways network. 

Having spent £5m on roads last year we will be increasing this amount to spend £5.5m in 24/25. The surface treatment programme will keep roads in good condition for longer, stopping cracks and potholes forming and improving skid resistance - making roads safer and smoother to travel on.

Through regular conversations with residents we know people are fed up with those who illegally fly tip and just throw rubbish away without a care in the world. Last year we invested significantly in enforcement, a move which has already begun to pay dividends. We hope this will produce a seed change in people’s attitudes, increase pride in local communities and reduce littering. Our goal is that we will actually have to decrease enforcement resources and put the money where it should go – in supporting those most in need.

In order to ensure services support the most needy in the town and to be able to provide over 700 vital services, the council will be required to find £5.3m savings this year, which will be delivered through efficiencies, rather than further cuts to services which residents have had to endure over the last 14 years.

In addition and along with the overwhelming number of councils in the UK, the decision was taken to increase council tax by the maximum amount allowed. The 2.99 per cent increase, with the additional 2 per cent precepts for adult social care, will mean an effective 4.99 per cent rise for council tax payers.

A typical household in Luton’s most common B band, will therefore see a £67.74 rise in the annual amount due. For those who pay in 10 instalments per year this will mean a rise of just under £7 a month.

We know many will struggle with this and we encourage anyone for whom this increase will be hard to meet, to contact us as soon as possible.

Young families and those who support children may be particularly affected. For this reason we are delivering on a manifesto promise to help foster carers with a reduction in their council tax bill.

External forces, such as high inflation, the cost of living crisis and a struggling economy, are impacting the council too. Nevertheless our commitment to the vulnerable remains strong.

Councillor Rob Roche, portfolio holder for finance, said: “Whilst council finances continue to be tough in Luton, thanks to prudent measures we have taken in the past, we are not looking at the same level of exposure as many other authorities. Nevertheless, we have reluctantly had no option but to raise council tax again. We appreciate this rise will be challenging for some. We would encourage those in difficulty to talk to us as soon as possible.

“This budget is not just a collection of figures. It is about making difficult decisions that affect real people. That is why we have engaged with and listened to what our residents have told us matters to them.

“Although we are yet again having to tighten our belts we believe we have come up with a budget that is future-proofed to the best of our ability. Not only that, but, as we always do, we have put caring for the most vulnerable people of Luton, at the heart of our thinking and actions.

"We will keep lobbying the government to ensure that they provide proper funding for local authorities so we can provide the services the people of Luton need.”

Council tax letters will be sent out to residents in the first half of March in readiness for the first payment of the new financial year in April.