Derbyshire County Council has voted by a majority to increase its share of residents’ council tax for the next financial year by 4.9per cent despite accusations from opposition councillors that it has failed to fulfil an election campaign promise of cutting taxes.
The Reform UK-controlled council plan for a 4.9per cent increase to its council tax precept for the 2026-27 financial year as part of overall budget proposals was finally approved with the authority’s Revenue Budget Report plans after a successful majority vote at a Full Council meeting on February 11.
Cllr John Lawson, Cabinet Member for Council Efficiency, told the meeting: “Obviously, I agree we have to tax our public because there are certain services that require support – some of these services we provide in this county. Probably to some of the most vulnerable people in this county.
“So there is a bit of a clash in my principles where I wanted to minimise the tax burden but I wanted to protect the most vulnerable people in our society.”
He added: “We are trying to do our best to minimise the tax burden on the people of Derbyshire but obviously there has to be some support for the services and it’s not just adult care and children’s services. There has been a lot of talk about highways.”
The council’s former Conservative administration before the May, 2025, election had claimed it was on track to achieve over £31m of savings by the end of the 2024-25 financial year with tough cutbacks to manage a previously forecast budget deficit of over £39m for the 2024-25 financial year while identifying £18.6m of further necessary budget savings for the 2025-26 financial year to set a balanced budget.
And the new Reform UK-controlled council has revealed its ongoing strategy will need to involve necessary multi-million pound ‘new savings plans’ for the 2026-27 financial year and its budget report indicated it may have to prepare for possible ongoing increases to its share of residents’ council tax bills in the future at around 4.99per cent as part of the council’s Mid Term Financial Plan between the three financial years of 2026-27 to 2030-31.
The council’s budget report outlined plans for new ongoing savings proposals totalling £35.523m which have been proposed for 2026-27 with potential cutbacks expected across a number of areas to help meet a forecast £37.8 million shortfall and to balance its budget for the 2026-27 financial year.
Saving plans could see a review of fee rates for home care, the closure of Glossop household waste recycling centre, changes to the community support beds system in care homes to reduce costs, more technology to support adult social care, and a service redesign with a ‘transformation’ department to introduce greater efficiencies alongside the removal of long-term vacancies across corporate services.
Total spending for the council for the next year stands at £838m including reserves with a highlighted budget shortfall of more than £37m with plans for multi-million pound savings in the 2026-27 financial year alongside the plans to raise a substantial sum from council tax.
Budget proposals approved for 2025-26 already included significant savings requirements across all departments with the funding of only essential or unavoidable service pressures and a limited use of reserves and an increase in council tax.
And the council has argued it is still facing factors beyond its control including pay and price inflation and rising demand and costs for services, particularly in adult and children’s social care.
Cllr Lawson pointed out that the council is facing significant financial challenges on an international, national and local basis and it has been disappointing to have noted a small level of deficit but there are still pressures on children’s services and to an extent in adult social care.
He also identified pressures from inflation, adult social care, children’s services and costs carrying on from last year.
Cllr Lawson said: “We are in a very turbulent world at the moment particularly on the national level. This Government is making u-turns like they are going out of fashion so it’s crucial to have a reserve policy that takes all that into account.”
Concerning the increase in council tax, he added: “It’s not something we particularly wanted to do but it’s something we felt we have been pushed into.
“It’s important to recognise the achievements that have been made in the last year from this administration. The council’s financial management is improving with a planned process for making savings in 2026-27.”
Opposition Conservative Group Leader, Cllr Alex Dale, argued that many people voted for Reform UK in the May election because they were promised lower taxes but the council has pushed up council tax.
Cllr Dale has previously pointed out that Reform had made tax cuts a prominent part of its election campaign but Cllr Lawson has argued any reference to cutting taxes related to national issues to cut tax and he cannot recall anybody expecting the local authority to reduce council tax.
However, Cllr Dale told the meeting: “It’s a false promise from Reform. They told one thing to get elected and now they are doing the opposite. They are telling residents they have to pay more.”
The Conservative Group Leader called for an amendment requesting the council reduces its plan for a 4.9per cent council tax increase to 3.9per cent which was voted against by a majority and failed.
Cllr Lawson accused the former Conservative administration of driving the council into the ground by previously raiding the authority’s reserves and he said that when Reform came into power the ‘cupboard was bare’.
He also dismissed any suggestion that a recently announced £2.6m Government allocation of further funding would allow for any changes to the council’s immediate budget because he said this funding was just for this year and it will not be carried on.
Cllr Lawson said: “We want to get the council on a firm footing so in future years we will not be looking at increasing council tax as much but obviously that is not a promise but that is the main reason why we are voting against this amendment.”
He added that it is important for the public of Derbyshire to understand the financial situation that the new Reform administration inherited and found when it took control of the council in May.
Conservative Cllr Wayne Major said: “I just feel there is such a lack of ambition. A promise was made by the administration when they did not expect to gain control of this council and they are now trying to backtrack.”
Reform Cllr Stephen Reed, Cabinet Member of Business Services, has previously argued Reform had only promised to cut wasteful spending and cut taxes ‘nationally’ and he refutes claims the new Reform UK administration had previously pledged to cut council tax levels and that it is now doing a u-turn due to a significant loss in funding and financial insecurity.
Labour Group Leader, Cllr Anne Clarke, said that for a balanced budget Derbyshire residents are going to be ‘paying more to receive less’ and it is ‘more than disappointing’.
Green Party Group Leader, Cllr Gez Kinsella, said: “In the campaign for the May 2025 county council election, Derbyshire Reform UK said they would ‘cut your taxes’.
“It is fair to assume, given this was a county council election, that this meant council tax. However, this, along with other promises – does anyone remember
DOGE? – was irresponsible.
“Reform UK, by the Leader’s own admission claims he did not know the parlous state of the county’s finances. Yet, they still promised to cut council tax.
“Politicians making promises to the electorate that can’t be delivered undermines trust in every elected representative in this chamber. Like Labour and the Tories, Reform are contributing to a distrust of politicians.”
The council originally proposed a 4.99per cent increase, which is the maximum allowed, in its share of residents’ council tax bills but it reduced this to 4.9per cent.
Cllr Kinsella, who described the difference between 4.99per cent and 4.9per cent as the equivalent to a free pack of M&M’s per year, per household, but it also amounts to over £500,000 in lost income for the council.
He said he fears that a failure to fulfil on the Government’s assumption of a maximum 4.99per cent increase may have consequences for future additional funding requests from the council.
Council Leader, Cllr Alan Graves, said the council’s budget has not been set in easy circumstances after years of under-funding from Government and the financial pressures the authority faces today are not the result of exorbitant or reckless spending but is the legacy of the previous administration.
He added that the current Reform administration inherited a financial position that was ‘deeply unstable’ and the council was precariously close to financial failure.
Cllr Graves stressed that ensuring statutory services is non-negotiable and the current budget protects services and it is a ‘serious budget for serious times’.
He said: “Reform UK will continue to fight for a fairer deal for Derbyshire for our residents and our workforce and for the vital services our people rely on every day.”
Cllr Graves has also previously blamed the Labour Government for increasing cost pressures on local authorities and for introducing an increase in employer national insurance contributions.
The council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Robert Reaney, said the council is working hard to find savings and efficiencies and it does take on board the public’s concerns about raising council tax but the authority has found itself in a situation where it has been forced to do so.
Concerning the council tax increase, Cllr Lawson added: “It delivers that balanced budget and sets this council on a firm footing going forwards and makes us more resilient going further in the future.
“The Conservatives started a process that was far too little too late and it left this council in a precarious situation when we took over.
“We are still not out of the woods and there is still an awful lot to do but we are committed to achieving not only a financial balance but we want to improve services as well.”
The overall council tax bill for Derbyshire residents includes an accumulation of numerous precepts determined by the county council and relevant local authorities including district or borough councils, parish or town councils and the police and fire authorities as part of their annual budget arrangements.
Report by Local Democracy Reporter – Jon Cooper
