Salford council taxpayers face a 4.99% rise in their annual bill if the authority’s budget is approved.
The proposed increase is the maximum possible hike allowed without a local referendum.
On Tuesday morning, the plans were revealed as the council’s cabinet has approved a draft revenue budget for 2026/27, which warns of the “most significant redistribution of funding within the sector in the last 25 years.
The budget is not yet final and still faces several hurdles before it can be implemented. It will be scrutinised by councillors at the Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 4 February, before returning to cabinet on 10 February and then going to full council for a final decision on 25 February.
However, the decision in cabinet indicates it is moving in the right direction after a short debate led to approval.
According to the detailed report, the government settlement marks a “fundamental shift” in local government finance, driven by a full baseline reset, major changes to funding formulas and the consolidation of multiple grants into fewer funding streams.
Council officers say the reforms will significantly reshape how resources are distributed between councils by 2028–29, potentially creating new winners and losers across the sector.
The council’s Core Spending Power (CSP), a government measure of the total resources available to deliver services, is forecast to rise by 5.6% in 2026/27 in the report, followed by increases of 3.6% and 3.4% in the subsequent two years.
Despite this, the council is proposing to raise council tax by the maximum allowed level, including a 2% adult social care precept.
If approved, the increase would see the council’s share of Band D council tax rise by £102.43, taking the annual charge for council services to £2,155.20. The council expects to raise £173.9m from council tax in 2026/27.
Deputy City Mayor, Cllr Jack Youd, defended the plans: “The proposed 4.99% increase, which includes the adult social care precept, is in line with what the Government expects councils to set. Setting it lower would mean cutting back on services that many residents rely on, particularly care for older and vulnerable people.
This is about protecting essential services and keeping them running, not raising bills for the sake of it.”
The draft budget sets total revenue spending for the year at £463.2m and aims to manage rising demand and cost pressures across services such as adult social care, children’s services, housing and homelessness. The report highlights increasing placement costs in children’s services, growing demand for adult social care, and rising use of temporary accommodation as ongoing financial pressures.
To balance the budget, the council is also relying on more than £11m in one-off funding, including £4.23m of non-recurrent funding from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, subject to approval, and £6.77m from a collection fund surplus. Temporary funding is commonly seen as a short-term solution that can create future financial challenges once it runs out.
The cabinet-backed proposals will now be subject to political debate and scrutiny before councillors decide later this month whether to formally adopt the budget.
@salfordnownews Council tax is rising #salford #fyp #politics #tax #foryou ♬ original sound – Salford Now
