17/01/2025 - Luton Council Budget to focus on supporting the most vulnerable

Luton Council is proposing a set of necessary changes in its draft annual budget for 2025/26 to provide much-needed investment in supporting those most in need; while meeting its legal obligation to present a balanced budget.

If approved by Full Council in February, these changes will allow the council to invest an additional £18.6 million in the vital services it provides for residents. This includes:

• £8.4 million for adult social care services (including £1.7 million to support people with learning disabilities, £3.1 million for mental health provision, £2.8 million to provide care for older people and £800k to support those with physical or mobility issues)
• £6.1million to address homelessness and provide supported living.
• £4.1million for children’s services (including £1.6 million for SEND transport, £1 million for residential care and £1.6 million for placements and other care)

To ensure it can continue delivering these and other vital services, the council is making the difficult proposal to raise council tax in 2025/26 by the maximum amount possible, without asking for a local referendum (4.99%).

Unfortunately, raising council tax alone will not be sufficient to address the severe financial pressures the council is facing. Despite some welcome increases to grant funding from the government for 2025/26, there is still a large gap between funding central government offers the council and the growing costs and demand for its services like housing, adult social care and children’s services.

To address this funding gap, the council has also had to identify £10.7 million of potential savings to address a growing deficit (£11.7 million in 2024/25) and ensure it remains on a sustainable footing. Savings have been identified in a way that will minimise adverse impacts on residents, such as through efficiencies and by raising income from external sources.

Councillor Rob Roche, portfolio holder for finance at Luton Council said:

“A number of significant financial pressures over the last 12 months has meant that we have had to propose some difficult changes. These changes remain imperative to ensure we can continue to safeguard and invest in vital services for residents and meet our legal obligation to balance the books.

“We fully appreciate that the proposed increase in council tax comes at a time where many Luton residents are already experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the rising cost of living. To support residents through this challenging period, the council will continue to offer our council tax support scheme and hardship fund for those most in need.

“Taken together, these proposals will ensure the council remains on a sustainable footing and give our vitally important services a much-needed £18.6 million boost in funding. It will also help us to focus and invest in more of the areas that residents told us were a priority to them, like safety, cleanliness and improving Luton Town Centre.”

You can read the draft 2025/26 budget plan and full list of proposed savings on our website.

The council is inviting residents to comment on the draft budget plan. Comments can be emailed to [email protected] (deadline for response is Tuesday 28 January 2025).

The final budget will be decided on at a full council meeting on Monday 24 February.