Blackburn with Darwen council tax rise proposed

Monday, 24 February 2025 05:00

By Bill Jacobs

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s annual finance council meeting will this evening be asked to raise the borough’s council tax by 4.99% from April 1.

The rise will generate an additional £68million for the council in 2025/26, with a core 2.99 per cent for general council tax and an extra two per cent for increasing adult social care costs.

This year’s government grants to councils are based on the assumption they will put up council tax by the maximum amount.

Borough finance boss Cllr Vicky McGurk will propose to the meeting that it ‘approve an increase in the general council tax of 2.99 per cent (reflecting a weekly increase of £1.08p for Band D council tax payers and of £0.72p for Band A council tax payers) and approve an additional increase in council tax of two per cent to contribute towards the additional costs of adult social care’.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is an all-purpose unitary authority providing the full range of local government services including education, highways, adult social care and children’s care.

The proposed increase will bring the borough’s portion of the annual council tax bill for a typical Band D semi-detached family home to £1,964.93.

With the £14 per year precept increase to pay for the police and the £5 per year rise for the fire service this bring the total annual bill for a Band D property in Blackburn with Darwen to £2,332.06 excluding any extra levy to pay for parish/town council services such as in Darwen.

Cllr Mustafa Desai, leader of the opposition 4BwD group said: “A rise will undoubtedly impact households in an already fragile and challenging economic climate, however a 4.99 per cent council tax rise – in real money equating to around 25p per day – can be justified for several reasons, especially in the context of local government finances and the need for sustainable public services.”

Tory group leader Cllr John Slater said: “It is an absolute scandal. They are putting council tax up by the i amount because there are no elections this year. This is a badly run council.”