Lancashire County Council's share of Council tax proposed to rise by 3.8 per cent

Lancashire County Council is proposing its lowest Council tax rise for 12 years but opponents of Reform UK have accused them of going back on pre-election promises.

The county council has published its draft budget, proposing a 3.8 per cent rise in its share of Council tax for the coming financial year.

Last year the county's portion of Council tax rose by 4.99 per cent, the maximum allowable without a referendum.

Lancashire residents pay the vast majority of their Council tax to Lancashire County Council.

The county council provides services including social care, schools, local highways and transport, libraries and registrar services.

"This remains a very challenging time for local government with a need to make savings while demand increases," said County Councillor Stephen Atkinson, leader of Lancashire County Council.

“We are working hard to make sure the decisions we make are the right ones and people’s Council tax is used wisely, with any increase kept to a minimum. 

“At a time when an increasing number of councils are effectively going bust – with around one in four in England requiring exceptional financial support – we’re proposing the lowest Council tax rise in Lancashire in 12 years.

"However, if the council had not made its bond investments, I am confident we would not now need to increase council tax by 1.8 per cent. 

"This proposed additional charge represents 85p per week for a Band A property and 99p per week for a Band B property. 

“This is a historic moment for this council and indicative of the sea change that is currently happening in Lancashire.” 

The draft budget will now be reviewed by the council's Budget and Finance Scrutiny Committee and cabinet before a final decision by the full council next month. 

Councillors will be told the council is in a stable financial position, but ongoing pressures and risks require "continued vigilance and transformation" and that "while some staffing reductions will need to be considered, the council will seek to minimise the impact through measures such as natural turnover and redeployment".

“When my colleagues and I were elected, we made a promise to carefully scrutinise all aspects of the council’s finances to ensure taxpayers were getting good value for money," said County Councillor Atkinson.

“We are in a fortunate position that we now have a package of efficiencies where we are already seeing value for money being delivered, and we will build on that. 

“There is still a lot of work to be done, and a range of savings will need to be met, but this budget signals our intention to ensure the council is on a stable financial footing while continuing to deliver vital services for residents. 

“I would also like to thank everyone who took the time to take part in our budget consultation. Your feedback plays an important role in helping us make informed decisions on behalf of our communities.” 

The Conservative group on Lancashire County Council, who ran the council until Reform UK won control in the 2025 local elections, has criticised the decision to raise Council tax.

"Given Reform's pre-election pledges, it is surprising to see Council tax even going up at all in Lancashire," said a Tory spokesperson.

"Due to the very strong performance of the Pension Fund under the Conservatives, cost pressures have reduced for Reform by circa £14m a year.

"Furthermore, government funding has increased by circa £26m a year more than expected and budgeted for.

"So, why if Reform are £40m a year better off due to the decisions of past Conservative administrations and the current government, have they only reduced the increase in Council Tax by around £8.2m?

"Where has the rest gone to and where are the much-vaunted DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) savings?

"It is clear that they still have more questions to answer, which the Conservatives intend to ask them, on behalf of the residents of Lancashire."

County Councillor Azhar Ali, an independent, said: "What the Reform administration have done is they've just raised Council tax by a whopping 3.8 per cent - that's a massive hit for the people of Lancashire.

"There's a cost-of-living crisis and people struggling and Reform have just broken their one big promise that they made which was to not increase Council tax.

"I think people will be really disillusioned and angry that they were promised the earth and they delivered dust."

The county council said its draft budget will "balance the need to maintain vital services with an ongoing commitment to value for money".

A council spokesperson said that in September 2025, the council reported a projected overspend of approximately £28m for that year, largely due to pressures in adult services and children's services.

"Through a range of measures and efficiencies the council has already made savings in 2025/26, such that the overspend reduced to £10.4m at the half year position and to £6.2m by December 2025," said the spokesperson.

"(The draft budget) proposes solutions to the four key financial risks to the council by meeting the costs of SEND, funding the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit in Education, presents a strategy for the management of the council's long-term investments and investing £93m in frontline services including highways. 

"Savings of over £60m are outlined for 2026/27, alongside the creation of a Working Capital Enhancement Reserve to further strengthen financial resilience.   

"The council is also set to receive an extra £24m in government funding following the Fair Funding Review. However, the savings are needed as part of an overall package to meet the various cost commitments set out in the report 'draft budget 2026/27' published yesterday.   

"The draft budget outlines that, by 2030/31, the council’s debt to finance the capital programme will have reduced to £1.056bn, down from £1.181bn in 2026/27."

Residents of the Lancaster and Morecambe District pay the rest of their Council tax bill to Lancaster City Council, the police and fire authorities, and their local parish council depending on where they live (ie Morecambe Town Council, Carnforth Town Council etc).

Their shares of Council tax for 2026/7 are yet to be determined.