Have you say on Kirklees Council plans to raise council tax by 4.99 per cent

In the next financial year, the local authority needs to make a saving of £6.9m, with cuts to focus on reducing administrative costs and improving productivity, under the current plans.

The council says this will minimise the impact on frontline services and residents.

Labour’s draft budget also features a 4.99 per cent increase in council tax from April 2026, with two per cent of this earmarked to fund extra demand for social care.

This equates to an extra £1.88 per week for a Band D property in Kirklees.

In addition, 55 full-time equivalent roles would be lost, though 28 of these are already vacant.

The proposals include spending £15.2m on the needs of increasing numbers of older and disabled local people who need social care, as well as £5.9m in additional funding for services for children who need the council’s support.

Cash has been allocated to tackle fly-tipping and enforce planning decisions too.

The draft budget also comes with a proposed five-year capital programme which covers £35m for a new sports centre in Dewsbury, along with funding to progress Huddersfield’s Our Cultural Heart, £18m for regeneration projects in Dewsbury and £13m for schemes in other Kirklees towns next year including Batley, Marsden and Holmfirth.

On Tuesday, the council’s cabinet met, with the budget proposals one of many items on the agenda. Here, members approved the start of a five-week period of public consultation, which kicked off on Wednesday and will run until January 7.

After consultation has concluded, cabinet will consider the results before finalising their plans.

Labour’s final version of the budget will then be put to a meeting of all councillors on February 25, 2026.

Cabinet member for Finance and Regeneration, Coun Graham Turner, told the meeting: “This budget is significantly, and I mean significantly, better than previous years’ budgets and this is the best budget I have been involved with.

“I am optimistic that we have turned a corner and that in the coming years, local government will start to get its fair share of the nation’s resources.”

To share you views, visit https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/delivering-services/budget-and-accounts.aspx