County Council tax precept expected to rise by 5%

Hertfordshire County Council have published their draft budget for 2024-25 which would see a 4.99% increase in the council's precept.

The £1.1bn proposals outline increased investment of £128 million to protect, maintain and improve services.

Nearly half a billion pounds will be spent supporting 30,000 adults to live well for longer, including an additional £30 million investment to support those providing care, ensuring that caring staff receive a living wage and to offset the increased National Insurance costs. £26m of additional investment will be spent to ensure that the council can meet the expected increase in demand from those requiring care.

Just over quarter of a billion pounds will be spent on children’s services, with a further £2.8m of funding for improvement to the council's provision for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

£100m will be spent on highways maintenance, an increase of £6m from the previous year

Funding will also be made available to improve flood protection and investigations.

There will be a new Prevention and Health Inequalities Fund of £3.4m to support residents to stay healthy and well and address health inequalities in Hertfordshire over the next three years.

The draft budget requires the use of £3m of reserves in addition to having to raise Council Tax by 4.99 per cent (including 2 per cent to support Adult Social Care) in April.

Commenting on the proposals, Leader of The Council Richard Roberts, said: "From keeping Hertfordshire moving to helping residents who need the most support, we will be spending over a billion pounds delivering services across Hertfordshire and focussing on what really matters to you. The current economic outlook for the country and changes recently made by the government, means that our own costs will rise in 2025, but rather than rest on our laurels, we are working hard to bring these under control so that as little of these additional costs are passed onto you. Years of prudent financial planning have put us in a good position, but once again we are going to have to access our reserves and make significant savings to balance the budget."

Esat Herts District Council are also expected to increase their council tax precept by 3% in the coming year.