Council budget for the year ahead is agreed

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's budget for 2025 to 2026 has been approved at a meeting of full Council on Wednesday (February 19).

The Council's Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for the next three years was also agreed at the meeting.

This follows on from reiterations the Council was in a "strong position", despite remaining financial pressures.

And since the introduction of the "Powering Our Future" transformation programme in late 2023, the Council has explored and identified new ways of working, with £5.8million savings already identified.

A Council Tax increase of 4.95 per cent, with 2.95 per cent on core Council services and two per cent on the Government's adult social care levy was agreed at the meeting, leaving a balanced budget for the year ahead.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Bob Cook, said: "Our well thought-out and considered transformation programme means we find ourselves in a good position, despite the financial challenges we face.

"Identifying high spend areas where we can look at reducing costs, while also improving outcomes for our residents, has been the priority of the transformation programme - and we're making excellent progress with more than half of the required savings delivered already.

"However, we remain far from complacent and continue to reshape to deliver our services within the budget we have available to us.

"Of course, we remain really ambitious for our brilliant Borough, with lots of exciting things to come in the next year, including the exciting developments at Preston Park Museum and Grounds, the continuation of Stockton Waterfront development and the Stockton and Darlington Railway 200 anniversary celebrations."