Council tax payers in Wirral will be hit in the pocket from April, after plans for a 2.99% rise were confirmed.
Wirral Council needs to save £20m in the upcoming financial year, after two government reports slated the authority for failing to take tough decisions.
The council plans to save this money by withdrawing funding for Woodchurch Leisure Centre, nine libraries, two public golf courses and more, although local groups will be given several months to take them over and keep them going.
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As well as this, the local authority is putting council tax up by 1.99%, plus an extra 1% which is ringfenced for Adult Social Care, in addition to precepts for services including police and fire.
This will see an increase for a typical Band D property of £61.34 per year.
Total Council Tax for Wirral in 2022-23:
- Band A: £1,368.39
- Band B: £1,596.45
- Band C: £1,824.51
- Band D: £2,052.58
- Band E: £2,508.71
- Band F: £2,964.83
- Band G: £3,420.97
- Band H: £4,105.16
At the start of last month, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that people in council tax bands A to D will receive rebates funded by government grants. Those in lower bands will get more, an average of £150 per household.
This means that those in Band D properties will be paying just under £90 less than they were last year, once they receive their rebate.
In Wirral, 89% of households, 134,120 in total, are in bands A to D.
But council tax is just one bill that residents have to face.
What some have called a ‘cost of living crisis’ has been triggered by rising energy costs, with millions set to pay £693 per year more from April.
To deal with this, the Chancellor has said households will get £350 to support them with their energy bills.
