Challenging times continue as county council considers budget (29th January)

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet will meet next week (Thursday 29th January) to consider measures to support the setting of a balanced budget

Councillors will be asked to consider the Revenue Budget Report 2026-27 which includes how the authority will manage and spend a proposed net budget of £812.2m in the coming year.

The report to be discussed also includes new budget savings proposals of £44.9m for the next financial year together with a recommendation to raise council tax by 4.90%.

Setting out the council’s current financial position, the report says the impact of external factors, such as pay and price inflation beyond its control, continue to put finances under pressure.

Increasing costs and demand for council services, particularly in children’s services and adult social care, are also contributing to significant additional spending, the meeting will be told.

The council is currently forecasting a budget overspend of £1.612m which it needs to reduce by the end of the financial year. It must also continue to deliver savings and make efficiencies to remain financially stable in future years, adds the report.

Council Leader Councillor Alan Graves said: “We have done everything we can to try to ensure we’re not raising council tax by the maximum amount but, the fact remains, we have to fund the services we are required to deliver by law.

“There have been significant changes to the local government funding system but it is clear that in real terms we have less money to run the council when we continue to face increasing demand for services.

“We are doing what we can to identify savings and make the council run more efficiently. However in order to deliver the services that people rely on we also have no choice but to consider an increase in council tax to make the finances stack up.”

New savings proposals of £44.9 have been put forward after the council predicted a shortfall in its budget for the year ahead (2026 to 2027).

Cabinet Member for Council Efficiency, Councillor John Lawson added: “We’ve been working hard to understand how the money we have been given by the Government affects our plans for the next financial year.

“We have a duty to set a balanced budget, and this report ensures that we will be able to do this.

“We want to ensure this council is running as efficiently as possible and that every pound is accounted for and spent wisely for the benefit of Derbyshire residents.”

Due to the challenging financial situation, the council is proposing to increase council tax by 4.90% for the year ahead.

If agreed, the council tax rise would raise an extra £21.5m. The 4.90% total would be made up of 2% to go directly towards adult social care costs (known as the adult social care precept) and 2.90% for general council expenditure.

The rise would see a Band B household paying an extra £62.09 per year (£1.19 per week) and a Band D household paying an extra £79.83 per year (£1.53 per week).
Following the Cabinet meeting on 29th January, the council’s budget and the budget savings proposals will be considered by Full Council when it meets on Wednesday 11 February.

A number of the new savings proposals, if it is agreed for them to go forward, will be subject to further Cabinet reports and then followed by appropriate public engagement or public consultation before any final decisions are made.

For more information visit: Agenda for Cabinet on Thursday 29th January 2026, 12.00 pm – Derbyshire County Council