Vulnerable people, flooding and potholes targeted for multi-million-pound council investment

A 4.99 per cent Council Tax rise from April – equating to £1.54 more a week for a band D house - is also part of the four-year plan given the thumbs-up at a meeting of Leicestershire County Council.

Budget papers show that rapidly rising demand for services, and inflation, is driving up costs by £214M, compared to expected extra income and savings of £123m.

Around £95M more will now be spent supporting vulnerable children and adults, the current programme for fixing potholes and roads will increase by £28M and another £1.5M will be invested in helping communities clean up and become flood-ready, bringing the total to £18.4M by 2029.

Reserves will be used to manage a small budget gap next year – by 2027, this gap is forecast to increase to £38M and rise to £91M by 2029.

Acting leader, Councillor Deborah Taylor, said: “Pressure on councils’ budgets continues to mount.

"And simply put, the cost of extra demand by far outweighs any increased income.

“We’re doing the best we can with the funding we have - and investing money to provide vital support, keep our roads moving and get communities back on their feet after the terrible New Year floods.

“The ‘extra’ money for councils that government has announced so far doesn’t cover the impact of National Insurance and Living Wage rises, let alone shift the dial.

“It’s clear government needs to tackle the big issues driving our costs head on.”

Councillor Lee Breckon, cabinet member for resources, said: “Taking tough decisions has stood us in good stead and means we’re not at crisis point.

“We’re lean, high-performing and low funded, but need change to enable us to keep on delivering the services we know our residents value.

“No one wants to increase Council Tax but without it, we’d have to make £20M more savings next year, and consultation feedback showed good support for our proposals.”

The council’s yearly budget totals £615M – the authority is one of the biggest organisations in the county, spending around £10m every week on crucial services for Leicestershire residents.