Leeds City Council leader welcomes extra funding
Final budget plans for 2025/26 released today
The Leader of the council Councillor James Lewis has welcomed new funding for the city after final budget plans for 2025/26 were released today which confirmed £67million in extra funding next year. However, the impact of rising costs, pressures and demand for services especially for looked-after children and in adult social care leaves the council needing to save £103.8m overall to deliver its legally-required balanced budget in the next financial year.
The budget includes an increase in council tax of 4.99 per cent, of which 1.99 per cent is dedicated to adult social care costs. For a band D property this means an increase of £86.29 for the year (£1.66 per week). Council tax in Leeds in 2024/25 was the lowest of all comparable core cities in England.
The final budget plans provide an update on the initial proposals presented in December, with figures then able to be further revised following government funding announcements made in recent weeks. As explained in December, the council had already identified and approved £23.8million of savings in its medium-term financial strategy, leaving a revised £80m more to be delivered. The implementation of further proposals put forward in October and December will achieve that remaining level of saving, resulting in the balanced budget for 2025/26 as is legally required.
The council has responded to feedback received from the public and stakeholders who took part in consultation around the initial budget proposals by confirming Abbey House Museum will remain open, while possible changes to bowling green provision in the city are to be further consulted on with the aim of looking at ways to raise income and reduce the number of previously proposed closures of sites.
The extra £67m of funding Leeds is receiving in the next financial year has also meant that the proposed 10 per cent funding cut for neighbourhood networks in Leeds will not be required while there will also be no reduction made to wellbeing and youth activity funding.
Leeds, like councils across the country, faces significantly increased costs to provide services and rising demand, especially in social care for vulnerable children and adults.
This is being seen in supporting looked-after children, especially the most vulnerable with high levels of need requiring costly external placements, as well as for adult social care with increases in demand for older people, adults with learning difficulties and those needing support with mental health.
The council’s commitment to supporting vulnerable young and older people can be seen as 60 per cent of the council’s 2025/26 budget is being spent on services for children and families, and adults and health.
In Leeds in the last four years the costs associated with looking after children in external residential care has risen by 75 per cent, from £68million to £119million. The average cost of an external residential placement has gone up by 45 per cent since 2021/22 to currently £6,300 per week or £340,000 per year for each child being cared for. Costs for those children with especially complex needs, however, can be up to £1million per year per child.
In adult social care, the number of working age adults and older people being supported has increased by 20 per cent in the last three years, and the overall demand budget for these groups has risen by £100m in the same period.
In both of these areas, Leeds City Council is working with a clear focus on new ideas and creative approaches to meet the needs of residents in an effective and cost-effective way.
In children’s services, the council continues to strive for ambitious positive outcomes for the young people it is responsible for, investing in innovation such as small group living homes which allows children to return from costly external placements to Leeds where they can be close to their family, friends and local communities. Investment has also been made into a reunification service helping to return children from costly external residential placements to Leeds and into the care of their immediate or wider family, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, where evidence shows they are likely to achieve improved outcomes.
The council is also committed to improving its fostering offer and maintaining strong positive relationships with foster carers as well as seeking to deliver on new models of accommodation, including supported and specialist accommodation for children with the most complex of needs.
In adult social care, the HomeFirst programme delivered by Leeds City Council working with NHS and care partners is making an impact in supporting people across the city. Focused on providing a range of short-term support services to help people return home after they have been discharged from hospital, or to help them avoid being admitted to hospital, the programme aims to improve recovery and increase independence. Such has been the success of the programme in its first 18 months, 1,200 fewer adults needed to be admitted to hospital as they received care at home or in a community setting instead. For those admitted to hospital on the programme, their length of stay has been cut by 17 per cent on average, with more than 400 people able to go straight home after a hospital stay rather than into an intermediate community care setting.
To tackle the overall budget deficit, all council assets and services are being continuously assessed and reviewed to see how they can help mitigate the financial position.
The final budget plans include changes or reviews of the following areas to help deliver the required overall savings:
- Review of transport services in adults and health
- Creation of new early intervention team to help older people remain living at home
- Review of children’s centres
- Review of transport services for children and families
- Leasing Middleton Leisure Centre to a third party to run
- Introduction of ‘pay as you feel’ admission charges at Leeds City Museum, Leeds Art Galley and Leeds Discovery Centre
- Adoption of ‘pay as you feel’ admission model at Kirkstall Abbey for Leeds residents
- Review of Leeds Cultural Investment Programme
- Review into possible reduction in number of community committees in Leeds
- Review of council’s print and sign functions
In terms of council staffing, the budget plans announced today include a further reduction of 234.8 full-time equivalent (FTE) posts in the next year, with the council currently having 3,545 fewer staff than it did in 2010/11. The council remains fully committed to consulting with trade unions to avoid, reduce and mitigate the needs for compulsory redundancies. However, given the size of the budget challenge for 2025/26 the council may find itself in a position where compulsory redundancies cannot be avoided.
As part of its commitment to supporting lower-paid staff, from April 1 the lowest rate of pay in the council will be £12.69 per hour, nine pence above the Real Living Wage rate of £12.60 per hour.
Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor James Lewis said: “For the first time in 15 years the council has received additional government funding that has allowed us to protect services for our most vulnerable residents, which will always be our top priority. This has also given us more flexibility to act on feedback received from the consultation on our initial budget proposals and I’m pleased to confirm this has enabled us to make changes, including reversing the reduction of funding for the neighbourhood networks.
“I am also pleased to confirm our support to low-paid workers by continuing our commitment to paying all council employees at least the Real Living Wage rate.
“While significant ongoing challenges are still there to deliver over £100million of savings in a single year, we know that innovative new ways of delivering council services in a cost-effective way will give us the best chance of balancing our budget moving forward. For instance in adult social care our HomeFirst service helps more people safely continue living at home rather than going into care; and in children’s services we are increasing capacity in fostering and small group living homes which is beneficial to children and helps reduce spend on expensive private sector external residential placements.
“We also thank and appreciate the responses of everyone who gave us their views on the budget plans and specific elements within it. We have listened, discussed the issues involved and responded with a clear emphasis on working together as ‘Team Leeds’ to find effective solutions and new ways of working, which will underpin everything we do in the year ahead as we try to deliver this budget.”
Beyond next year, the council is provisionally expecting to need to find further savings of £38.2million in 2026/27 and £30.1million in 2027/28, with these figures continuing to be reviewed.
The final budget plans for 2025/26 will be considered by the council’s executive board at Civic Hall on Wednesday 12 February before going on to the annual budget debate and vote by the full council held on Wednesday 26 February.