Council tax rise approved for Hartlepool - this is how much bills will go up

Hartlepool Full Council on Thursday approved a core council tax rise of 1.9% for 2023/24, along with a 1% increase in the Adult Social Care Precept, by 17 votes to 11.

Council finance officers had recommended the rise after citing “significant external financial pressures” impacting their position, such as rising inflation and the energy crisis.

Councillor Shane Moore, council leader, said it is a topic that “keeps him awake at night” and “nobody wants to increase” the tax, but argued it would not be sustainable to refuse the rise.

The Independent Union representative said: “It is my job to make sure this council does everything possible to make sure we are still delivering services and providing jobs for local people in Hartlepool.

“We could kick the can down the road and wait a couple of months, but that doesn’t give the certainty to officers and councillors.

“It doesn’t give notice to the people of Hartlepool who may need to budget moving forward.”

Labour representatives had called for the decision on council tax to be paused to allow councillors to write to Hartlepool’s MP to arrange plans to work together to lobby Government for a fairer funding deal.

However a motion to do so was voted down, with councillors from the leading coalition stressing they continue to attempt every year to lobby for further funding.

Councillor Jonathan Brash, deputy Labour group leader, speaking after the meeting in which his party voted against the rise, said he was “bitterly disappointed” the call to delay the decision was refused.

At the meeting, he said: “Our people are suffering, we owe them a duty to try.

“There are people in this town who do not know where meals are coming from, they do not know how they are going to heat their homes.”

Labour’s Councillor Pamela Hargreaves added wider pressures the Government are facing could give the council, which features the Conservatives as the largest group, more bargaining power in their funding plea.

She added: “Let’s be a little bit more radical if we can. This is about food on tables.”

However Councillor Mike Young, Conservative group leader, said the council tax rise helps deliver a budget which can help everybody in the town.

The council deputy leader added: “We need to come together, we need to secure the services to the most vulnerable people in this town, and sadly the advice we are getting is that it’s going to require an increase in council tax.”

Cllr Sue Little raised an additional recommendation, unanimously supported by councillors, which will see all policy committee chairs write to town MP Jill Mortimer to attend meetings where budget decisions will be considered.

Due to the wider financial pressures over recent months, council officers are estimating a net budget deficit of £10.125million across 2023/24 and 2024/25, which would have been higher but for the council tax rise.

Savings proposals will be drawn up and brought before committees later this year.

The meeting heard national funding changes have meant council tax income makes up 42% of local authority resources in 2022/23, compared to 29% in 2013/14, marking “a £15m shift in funding on to local taxpayers.”