Council tax to rise by 5 per cent in Bolton amid £11m cuts

Almost £11m of cuts to council services are being planned by Bolton town hall, with council taxpayers facing a five per cent hike in bills from next April. The council has revealed its indicative cuts requirement for the year 2024/25 prior to a more detailed proposed budget being put together for public consultation.

A document to be put before the council’s Labour run cabinet next Monday shows a requirement to cut £10.9m from the council’s budget over the year April 2024 to March 2025. More details of where the £10.9M will be cut from will be published before a further meeting on December 3.

One of the assumptions in the current plan is a rise of 2.99 per cent in the general council tax levy as well as a further two per cent rise on top of that which is ringfenced to help pay for adult social care. The document states the original budget gap for 2024/25 had risen from a previous forecast of £21.7m to £37.4m, largely due to inflation pressures.

READ MORE: Man's bizarre actions as fire engulfed his flat 'could have ended in tragic consequences'

READ MORE: 'It's a tragedy that as a result of these crimes you have lost your reputation, your career and you must now lose your liberty'

To mitigate that budget gap, the council is using £10m of cash reserves to prevent the need for even more cuts, but they say ‘this deferral cannot continue indefinitely’. Other positive inflows which close the budget gap include a business rates re-evaluation which is expected to bring in £12.2m, the continuation of grants giving a benefit of £2.9m and a £1.4m boost in expected council tax revenue.

That leaves the current forecast budget gap of £10.9m which will need to be cut from current council operations and services. A spokesperson for