A TAX rise of around £71 a year has been proposed by Warwickshire County Council (WCC).
The Reform-led council has proposed a 3.89 per cent rise in its share of council tax for the 2026-27 financial year – equivalent to an extra £71 a year for a Band D home.
The move has prompted some opponents to accuse the council’s leadership of betraying Reform’s election promise to reduce taxes, while others say taxes should be raised further to protect frontline services from cuts.
A WCC report said the cost of supporting families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) was a key reason behind the tax increase.
WCC said it would deliver £27.7million of budget reductions in 2026-27, increasing to £100.3million by 2031, through ‘better procurement, improvements in efficiency, increased income and delivering reductions in demand’.
Speaking to The Guardian, WCC leader Coun George Finch said: “It’s not an ideal situation. We want low tax, low spend and we were always committed to that. It’s just national pressures that the government is not solving.
“The people understand that taxes do have to go up now. I am dead against increasing taxes and I will do as much as I can to lower that bill and that burden.”
The council also plans to invest £37.8million in adult social care, £10.3million in children’s social care services, and £11.2million in home to school transport ‘to resolve pressures from previous years and ensure we continue to provide services in line with our policy’.
In December, WCC’s board said anything below a 4.99% council tax rise – the maximum permitted by law – would threaten the medium-term sustainability of the council.
WCC’s official opposition Liberal Democrat Group said Reform’s proposals would put WCC’s future financial ability ‘at serious risk’.
The group’s leader, Coun Jerry Roodhouse, said: “For the sake of not charging an extra 35p per week on a typical Band D Council Tax, the current Reform administration – and any other councillors who want to support it – wants to cut now many vital services in our communities.
“In doing so, Reform will put at serious risk the future financial ability of the County Council, and whatever replaces it, to meet the needs of the county’s residents.
“A small amount of jam today, but an awful lot of pain in the future is no way to govern.”
WCC’s Conservative Group said Reform’s decision not to take the maximum 4.99 per cent increase would leave the council in a vulnerable position by removing money from financial reserves.
Coun Chris Kettle said: “While I understand their zeal to minimise tax increases, I do not admire Reform’s plan to fund a smaller increase than is needed by dipping into the council’s reserves to do so.
“The council’s reserves are there to protect services from unplanned increases in cost, whether through inflation or increasing demand, not to fund unfunded political aspirations.
“The people of Warwickshire will see through this reckless approach.”
The council will vote on its proposed budget tomorrow (Thursday February 29).
