Salford City Council bosses have tabled plans for a “no cuts” budget for the 2026/27 year, which will see no jobs or services slashed but comes at the expense of a 4.99% council tax hike.
The proposals have been hailed by Mayor Paul Dennett, who said he was pleased with the plans to maintain services “despite ongoing financial pressures and increasing demands.”
A “no-cuts budget” is where there are no cuts to jobs or services in a new budget proposal and this ensures that essential services remain available to residents.
But in 2025/2026, Salford Council proposed a total spending requirement of just over £396 million. The total spending requirement proposal for 2026/2027 is just over £498 million, an increase of nearly £102 million for the same provision of services.
The council have been able to increase the budget through the 4.99% increase in council tax, which is the largest rise the council can plan without needing a local referendum. This roughly accounts for a £12 million revenue increase from the 25/26 budget.
The Council outlined that their spending requirement of £498.294 million budget includes £23.720 million of growth and £8.348m of savings from service efficiencies.
“The budget aligns resources to priorities, manages demand, identifies efficiencies and opportunities for transformation and ensures statutory responsibilities are met,” a spokesperson said.
While the total spending requirement is £498.294 million, the overall budget of £463.654 million is found through the following earmarked reserves, savings and efficiencies.
Roughly £26.292 million is being utilised as earmarked reserves to cover future payments towards Adult social care and health, Children’s services, and Place.
A council spokesperson emphasised the need for these reserves. They said:
“Reserves remain a critical component of the Council’s approach to financial resilience. For 2026/27, the General Fund Reserve is forecast to remain at £20.4m over the period, this level sits within a risk-assessed range.
“In addition, the Council holds a range of earmarked reserves, each established for a specific purpose, statutory obligation or known risk.
“These reserves play an important role in supporting planned multi-year commitments, smoothing the impact of funding changes, and enabling services to manage in year and medium-term financial pressures. For 2026/27, the planned use of earmarked reserves is £26.292m.”
Mayor Paul Dennet also said: Strengthening our early intervention, family help and SEND offer, as part of our commitment to a Child Friendly Salford.”
The budget document itself also states that previous grants for Children’s social care prevention, Supporting Families, Post-16 Pupil Premium Plus and the Holiday Activities and Food Programme has been condensed into a single Children, Families and Youth Grant.
This has also increased from £5.303 million to £7.541 million. Of this increase, £2.194 million specifically, is intended to be used to support children’s social care reforms.
Ultimately, we await the final approval of the budget tomorrow morning to see if the full council agrees to increase council tax and to move forward with the proposed budget of £463.654 million.
