Cllr Cliff Morris, leader of Bolton Council, answers your concerns every month. 

AT this time of year, much attention is focused on the council’s budget for the coming year, and the level of council tax. 

This year has been an even more complicated and difficult decision because the government has recognised the difficulties facing councils in funding the costs of looking after our vulnerable residents, especially older people.

From 2016, the 2% Social Care levy is meant to meet the rising costs of social care, in addition to any council tax increase which councils need to make.

However in Bolton, our forecast suggests that by 2021 social care will cost an extra £9m every year because we are providing care to more people than ever - the government’s levy will raise about £1.8m for Bolton, so it will only address part of the shortfall.

We have made good progress towards the £43m of cuts in the council’s budget which we need to make by 2017; however before Christmas the financial settlement from Government revealed we will need to find a further £1.1 million.

Last year, we took a decision to freeze council tax, to support residents who were struggling financially; but the council’s financial position means that we cannot afford to freeze it again this year.

Taken together, the 1.5% general increase and the 2% for social care mean an overall rise of 3.5%. This works out to an extra 57p per week for a Band A household. We know this won’t be easy for many of our households, but it was the only realistic choice if we are to continue to protect our most vulnerable citizens.

We do have some more flexibility around capital funds – basically one-off amounts of money – which we will use to improve the environment, invest in sports and leisure, and support local voluntary and community groups.