A Cumbrian council said it has had to make difficult decisions as it claims its Government funding has been cut.
Westmorland & Furness Council’s portfolio holder for finance Andrew Jarvis said he felt like he had no choice other than to recommend increases and charges to help the authority balance the books.
It said the Government’s proposed changes to its National Funding Formula resulted in a loss of cash for Westmorland & Furness Council.
It is now recommending that councillors approve:
- Increasing council tax by 4.99%
- A new annual charge of £60 per bin for garden waste collections. This charge will only be applied to residents who choose to use the service and will be managed through an annual subscription.
- Car park charges will be increased by around 10%.
- Increases in the charges for the use of Windermere Ferry, and the removal of the Blue Badge exemption.
- That other fees and charges are increased in line with inflation.
It said introducing a charge for garden waste was not a preferred option, but was being recommended as it strived to balance the books.
At a cabinet meeting next week, councillors will discuss these recommendations, alongside others.
A statement from the council said they were “very aware of the sad reality that these recommendations will financially affect every resident in the Westmorland and Furness area”.
Cllr Jarvis, who is also deputy leader, said: “We have been warning about the impact that this would have on the council, our residents and our ability to deliver essential services.
“We have looked to get as much as we can from cost savings, but these will not be sufficient to offset the loss in government funding.
“Consequently, we feel we have no option but to implement increases and charges that we had hoped we could avoid. We recognise the impact that this will have on many families and individuals who continue to struggle with ongoing cost of living.
In particular, we had been clear that we did not want to charge for ‘all’ garden waste collections. Our firm intention was that the first garden waste bin would be collected for free, with residents only paying an extra annual charge for any extra bins.
“Unfortunately, when we received our provisional funding settlement from government in late December, it became clear we simply couldn’t afford the additional costs of that preferred option. The sharp cut in government funding has left us with no choice but to recommend to Full Council that we implement these charges.
“This has been a difficult and challenging recommendation to make, but the reality is the reduced funding from the Government means that we are having to recommend some tough choices to ensure we can balance the budget and protect investment in frontline services.’’
Westmorland & Furness Council said the Government’s proposed new funding formula failed to recognise the higher costs of service delivery in rural areas and the significant impact the proposed reduction would have on services.
It said the changes will create a funding gap of £11m for 2026/27, £25m for 2027/28 and £40m by 2028/29.
The Labour Government published its provisional settlements in December.
It decided to give councils multi-year settlements rather than paying out over individual years.
In 2024-2025, it said Westmorland & Furness Council core spending power – a standard measure used by government to assess councils’ overall funding – was £284.7 million.
Its figures show that Westmorland & Furness Council’s core spending power – will be as follows:
- 2025-2026: £309.9 million
- 2026-2027: £314.1 million
- 2027-2028: £315.9 million
- 2028-2029: £318.8 million
From this year, it will also benefit from the Fair Funding reset, which updates how funding is distributed so it better reflects deprivation, rural delivery costs and social care pressures. The allocation tapers over time as temporary protections are unwound.
It is as follows:
- 2026-2027: £110.5 million
- 2027-2028: £96.3 million
- 2028-2029: £82.2 million
Headline spending power figures assume use of the council tax flexibility available under national rules, and that decisions about council tax remain a matter for local councillors.
But Westmorland & Furness Council said the Fair Funding reset will cut millions from its spending power and has submitted a case to Government and is waiting for the outcome of the settlement.
It added it was continuing to lobby the Government to ask it to reconsider the proposals.
