Council chiefs are proposing £7.5 million of cuts, a 4.99 per cent tax hike and more borrowing to set a balanced budget.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's draft budget for 2025/26 includes proposals for new social care fees, increased prices at leisure centres and a plan to dim some streetlights to save energy costs.

And the Labour-run authority will be asking for another £16.8 million of 'exceptional financial support' from the government – effectively an overdraft facility – having already received £42.2 million of EFS over the last two years. But council leaders have described their proposals as a 'stabilising budget' and say the authority's finances are now seeing 'green shoots' of recovery.

They point to the fact that only £1.1 million of the proposed savings will affect frontline services – considerably less than in previous years – with £6.4 million impacting back office functions. And while 20 vacant posts are set to be deleted, only one redundancy is being proposed at this stage.

The planned council tax rise – the maximum allowed without a referendum – will include two per cent ringfenced for adult social care. This increase will equate to an extra £53.85 a year for a Band A household, and £80.75 more for Band D homes.

The council has now launched a consultation on the proposals with residents, staff and unions, with the final budget due to be agreed at full council next month.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader, Cllr Jane Ashworth (LDRS).

Council leader Jane Ashworth acknowledged that balancing the budget would again depend on asking for permission to borrow millions of pounds. But she insisted that council work to reduce spending on children's social care, and 'fairer' funding from government in future, would mean a brighter future.

She said: "We do expect there to be a new funding formula for local authorities. At the moment funding and need are dislocated. They need to be conjoined properly so cities like ours, which have greater social need, are suitably invested in by government. We're hoping this will come in next financial year, along with three-year settlements. Until we get that fair funding formula, we will struggle to overcome the damage done over the last 14 years by austerity budgets.

"It's extremely difficult to see how you can maintain a decent quality of service while managing that deficit. That's why we've had to borrow money, because our needs exceed our government income and our council tax base.

"We need to wean ourselves off the exceptional financial support and invest in positive developments in the city as well. The way we're going to do that is by sorting out the problem of too many children in care when they should be safe at home with their families, and the fair funding formula."

The number of children in care in Stoke-on-Trent stood at 1091 in December, down from a peak of 1,151 in 2023/24. Cllr Ashworth said this reduction was due to the council investing in early help services to prevent admissions into social care.

Conservative opposition group leader Dan Jellyman (Image supplied).

Conservative opposition group leader Dan Jellyman criticised the council for asking for more exceptional financial support.

He said: "Last year they asked for a £40 million bail out from the government. We supported because we could see there was a real need in terms of children's and adult social care. But we did that having received assurances that they would sort things out. The fact that they're asking for another £16.8 million of exceptional financial support shows that they have failed to do that. And this is money that Stoke-on-Trent taxpayers are going to have to pay back in future years."

The budget includes proposals to generate an extra £297,000 a year from leisure and wellbeing services and public protection through price rises.

According to the consultation document, these will take into account things such as competitor pricing, and will allow the the council to keep services running.

The council is also planning to transfer New Horizons Leisure Centre to neighbouring Ormiston Academy on a long-term lease, which is expected to save £69,000 a year.

One potentially controversial budget proposal will involve the dimming of selected streetlights 'where it is practical and safe to do so', which could save £100,000 a year.

And the council will introduce a new annual administration charge for adult social care self funders who use the council's brokerage service. This is expected to generate £75,000 annually.

Councillor Alastair Watson, cabinet member for financial sustainability and corporate, said: "We are bringing financial stability and clear strategic direction to this council. This budget is a step along that path.

"It is important that people understand that, despite some positive signs in the recently- announced local government settlement, the financial circumstances remain extremely challenging.

"What is clear is that we are in a much better place than we were this time last year – not just financially, but in terms of the service improvements that the residents of this city need and deserve."

The budget consultation will run until February 10. Residents can have their say by visiting stoke.gov.uk/budget2025. They can also write to Budget 2025, c/o Executive Assistant to the Corporate Director of Resources (S151 Officer), Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke ST4 1HH.

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