Balancing the budget remains “extremely challenging”
13:41, 17 Oct 2025Updated 13:42, 17 Oct 2025
Bristol taxpayers are set for higher bills from April(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
Council tax is set to rise by five per cent for Bristol residents for the sixth consecutive year. It would mean bills for Band B households would be hiked by £85.57 from April and £110.01 for Band D.
Bristol City Council has launched its annual draft budget consultation and says the increase, comprising three per cent for ‘core’ council tax that pays for everyday services such as waste collection, libraries and road maintenance, and two per cent ring-fenced for social care, is what the government expects local authorities to charge.
It is the maximum allowed without a local referendum. Last year the council asked residents’ views on a huge range of options for council tax rises, from zero to 15 per cent, but the government kept the threshold at five per cent and that was approved at full council in February.
This time, the authority is proposing only one option but will consider feedback from the consultation before making a decision.
A five per cent increase would raise £15.1million a year, however, this would still leave the organisation with a £20.8million shortfall on setting a legally balanced budget for 2026/27.
So the consultation also seeks residents’ views on proposals to cut costs and increase income.
There are 77 of these proposals, although most are not considered to affect people’s experience of services and some have previously been published and consulted on, so the council is asking people what they think about 16 of these in the survey.
One such proposal is to change how library books are funded. This currently comes out of the general revenue fund for day-to-day services to the tune of £330,000 a year. The idea is to move this to capital funding from April, which would free up that money in the revenue budget.
Council leader Cllr Tony Dyer (Green, Southville) said: “The past 12 months has been a period of stabilising our finances to make space for the significant investment our city and our services need to continue to meet the needs of all residents.
“The balanced budget we set in February this year has carved out many opportunities to invest in critical areas across our city, focussing on the priorities we set out in our corporate strategy.
“There is much to be celebrated from the last year and, looking ahead, we remain committed to investing in areas that deliver long-term benefits to people and communities.
“However, the financial outlook remains extremely challenging with pressures we face from rising demand, inflation, and constrained funding.
“We are at a point in the financial year when we begin laying out plans for next year’s budget and revising our forecasts of what we believe our finances will look like over the next five years.
“To help in our decision making, we have launched the budget 2026/27 consultation and are now asking the people of Bristol to have their say.
“I encourage all residents and communities to complete the survey, and share it with their networks, so we hear from as many people and audiences as possible across the city, to help shape our financial plans for the coming year.”
The consultation runs for six weeks and closes at midnight on Wednesday, November 26. It can be viewed here.
Following feedback, the strategy and resources committee will make its budget recommendations on February 2 to full council, which has the final say 10 days later.