The council has agreed the budget for the year 2021/22 by a narrow margin after a strong exchange of opinions on ‘devastating’ cuts versus ‘hard decisions’.
In a meeting of the full council, attending members voted 21 to 19 in favour of the budget, which includes proposed library closures, cuts to arts grants and community wardens, and a switch to fortnightly bin collections for general waste.
The overall council tax bill is also being raised by 5 per cent – a 2 per cent base council tax rise, plus 3 per cent for adult social care.
The poorest in the Royal Borough face a reduction in their council tax discount – despite protests from councillors about the legitimacy of the decision.
At a full meeting of the council on Tuesday, members discussed the Royal Borough’s consultation on the 2020/21 Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS), which was found to be unlawful.
CTRS offers a discount in council tax to residents in low-income households who struggle to pay. The Royal Borough proposed to reduce the discount from 91.5 per cent to 80 per cent.
This year’s budget also sets out £16m of investment into Maidenhead regeneration, £1.6m into maintaining our roads and £2.4m into the Castle Hill project in Windsor.
The budget will also continue to support our most vulnerable residents, with £50m committed to adults, health and commissioning (a £2m increase) and £24m to support our children’s services (a £1.2m increase).
To learn more, read our press release.
https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/news/budget-approved-full-council
