Council tax rise and job cuts on the way as Doncaster Council announces its budget

Doncaster Council needs to find nearly £18 million in cuts to present a balanced budget despite being handed £7 million from central government for adult social care.

The mayor said that the council is ‘still feeling the effects of austerity’ a decade on.

She said: “In the past we have made difficult decisions about what services we can fund, whilst we continue to protect vulnerable people. It is clear that spending is becoming more narrowly focused on social care due to growing demand and this has left us with no choice but to apply the government’s two per cent adult social care precept.

“As always we will protect jobs and frontline services where we can, help the vulnerable and wherever possible continue with the services that matter most to our residents.

Dozens of jobs are set to go as well. Figures show 58 jobs will be cut during 2020/2021, 19 during 2021/2022 and 24 in 2022/2023.

Council tax is also expected to go up by 3.99 per cent - half of this is ring-fenced to help pay for adult social care.

The adult social care precept generates £2.2 million which contributes towards the pressures for adults, health and wellbeing. The overall increase equates to an additional 69p per week for band A properties and £1.04 per week for band D properties.

Despite the challenging budget situation, Mayor Jones reiterated the council must remain focused on ‘Doncaster’s ambitions’, with over £300 million of capital spending planned over the next four years.

The proposals also include a four year investment programme in council housing, which will see over £135 million invested in the council’s social housing stock. This will include maintenance, adaptations and the start of a 10 year new build programme.

It is estimated that 560 new homes will be built over 10 years with an overall budget of £100 million.

The mayor also said that more funding will be allocated to Streetscene services which help tackle fly-tipping.