Westmorland and Furness Council Cabinet have this morning at a meeting held at Barrow Town Hall voted unanimously to launch a public consultation on the councils 2026/27 budget that will include a 4.99% increase in Council Tax for 2026/27 as the authority faces what it describes as potentially significant reductions in Government funding and rising pressures across frontline services.
The increase—set at the maximum level allowed without triggering a referendum—would see the Band D charge rise to £2,014.73 for the Westmorland and Furness portion of the council tax that also includes town council precept and precepts for Cumbria Police and Cumbria Fire.
Westmorland and Furness council says more than half of its net income now comes from Council Tax and that the Government’s own funding calculations assume councils raise council tax to the full threshold each year.
This year’s budget consultation comes as the council grapples to understand the full impacts of the governments new national Fair Funding Review 2.0 that is expected to redistribute funding between local authorities from 2026/27, with early modelling indicating Westmorland and Furness may face a substantial budget reduction once the provisional settlement is published later this week but is forecast to see Westmorland and Furness become the biggest looser in the governments new fair funding 2.0 system in what was described by Cllr Thornton as an “Attack on rural Britain”.
The council has warned that late confirmation of funding and the scale of the potential reduction means it must prepare for wide-ranging savings, a full review of budgets, and potential further consultations later in the year.
Residents will be asked for views on several proposals, including major changes to key local services. These include the introduction of charges for garden waste collections, with two options under consideration: either the first bin remains free and additional bins cost £60 per year, or all bins are charged at £60 annually. New and replacement recycling and refuse bins would also be charged at full cost recovery rates, ranging from £30 to £50 depending on size. Car parking charges across all council-run car parks would rise by around 10%, and a single policy would be brought in giving all Blue Badge holders three hours of free parking when displaying their badge.
The council is also consulting on Home-to-school transport that will see a 15% rise in the cost of spare seats, taking the annual price to £867.03 from Autumn 2026, as demand continues to grow.
Alongside this, a separate consultation next year will examine several discretionary transport entitlements, such as providing free transport to catchment schools instead of the nearest suitable school, free Post-16 SEND transport, and free travel for four-year-olds. These changes, if adopted, would not begin before September 2027 and would be phased in to avoid impacting pupils currently receiving support.
The council is also proposing to reduce Carers Direct Payments from £1,500 to £400, with a discretionary higher amount of £750 in exceptional cases. Officers say this would bring the scheme into line with many other authorities and save £60,000 per year, with new guidance and a revised contract due in April 2026.
The financial pressures come against a backdrop of a forecast £9.973 million overspend for the current year. Directorate budgets are facing £14.5 million of pressures, partly offset by improved Treasury Management performance due to higher interest income and delayed borrowing. The council says it is undertaking a comprehensive review of services, hardship support, fees, grants and long-term restructuring options to ensure financial sustainability.
The council has implemented a freeze on all non essential spending and offered council staff the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy.
Cllr Andrew Jarvis, Westmorland and Furness Council's Cabinet Member for Finance, said:
"We feel we have had no choice but to launch our budget consultation to allow us to meet our legal requirements, but we are doing this even though we do not yet know what our final financial settlement from Government will be. We are still waiting for the announcement on what our share will be in this year's local government settlement and the detail of their proposed fair funding review. Based on early information, the review is likely to lead to significant reductions in our funding as the proposed new formula will strongly disadvantage sparse, rural areas like Westmorland and Furness. This means we are likely to face significant funding cuts at the same time as seeing increasing demand for our services and continued inflationary pressure."
Cllr Jarvis continued:
"We recognise that the increasing cost of living continues to have a huge impact on many of our residents, so our recommendations in this year's budget consultation have not been taken lightly. As a council we want to reassure the public that we are looking at every aspect of how we run the council to identify ways in which we can be more efficient and effective, including using new technology to help drive savings and make every pound count. But with the likelihood of reduced funding and higher demand, it is becoming even more of a challenge to deliver a balanced budget. In that context, we feel we have no option but to propose the measures included within this consultation."
Like all councils across the country, Westmorland and Furness Council is facing difficult financial challenges.
Following Local Government Reorganisation in 2023, the council has worked hard to ensure it continued to deliver services and provide essential support to those in need, delivering a balanced budget in the previous two years, alongside an ambitious programme of savings.
Becoming a unitary council has given the council the opportunity to think and do things differently, and challenge and maximise its efficiency and effectiveness. It has remained focused on putting communities at the heart of everything it does, providing excellent services to residents and businesses and delivering on its vision to make Westmorland and Furness "a great place to live, work and thrive".
The consultation document is now available at westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/budget and will run until 16 January 2026.
Feedback from the public consultation will be considered by Cabinet and then go to Full Council on 26 February 2026 with recommendations, presented alongside the Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).
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