Council leaders have agreed their final budget proposals – as they await the outcome of their £16.8 million bail-out request.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's proposed budget for 2025/26 includes a 4.99 per cent council tax increase, along with £7.5 million of savings.

But balancing the budget will be reliant on the government agreeing to provide £16.8 million of 'exceptional financial support', which is effectively a loan – an announcement is expected in the next few days. At their meeting on Tuesday, cabinet members voted to recommend the budget for approval at full council on March 4.

The cabinet will receive an update on the EFS request at their next meeting on February 25 – they may also need to consider changes to the budget, depending on the outcome.

According to the report to cabinet, if the EFS request is turned down, the council will need to launch an emergency consultation on additional cuts to services. The report says this would be 'incredibly difficult' and would mean 'have to cut pretty much everything that we are not legally obliged to provide'.

The council issued the same warning last year when it was requesting £42 million in EFS, which was approved by the government.

Cllr Alastair Watson, financial sustainability and corporate services, told the cabinet meeting that scrutiny committee members had provided useful feedback to the budget proposals. He said that 'all good ideas' would be considered at a later date, but none of them resulted in changes to the budget itself.

Savings in the budget include proposals for 'selective dimming' of street lights and increased charges at leisure centres.

-----------

READ MORE: Tunstall market traders share how they want to see the town centre transformed

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stoke Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our city.

Subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter email HERE - just click the 'SIGN UP' button.

Please consider following Stoke Nub News on Facebook or Twitter.