Budget plans for new £3.5m school uniform and winter fuel payment fund
Council chiefs have announced plans to create a £3.5m fund to help with the cost of school uniforms and to provide one-off winter fuel payments for some pensioners.
The money would also be used to help teenagers access training and education and to address a shortage of local childcare provision.
Wakefield Council plans to set up the Wakefield District Investment from a share of profits following the winding up of Bridge Homes, an affordable housing project which operated as a joint venture with Vico Homes for more than a decade.
The company was dissolved last year after both organisations said it had become a “challenge” to compete with developers providing similar housing schemes in the district.
Details of the fund are included in the council’s final budget proposals which are expected to be agreed by cabinet members at a meeting on February 17.
The financial plans include a maximum council rise of 4.99 per cent during the 2026/27 financial year. It equates to an extra £1.72 per week for B and D households and £1.15 per week for Band A households.
Council leader Denise Jeffery said: “Our budget this year shows what a difference having an experienced leadership team focused on the priorities of our residents makes.
“Councils up and down the country are struggling. But we’ve taken responsible decisions in Wakefield.
“That means we can protect essential frontline services, invest to help the people who need it most and continue to have the lowest council tax in West Yorkshire. Our District Investment Fund is a key part of our plan.
“All of these things are only possible because we’re a well-run council that takes sustainable, long-term decisions in the interests of everyone who lives in Wakefield.”
The fund would provide £2m of support to local families with school age children to help with the cost of school uniforms.
Pension-aged residents in receipt of council tax support would receive a one-off £50 winter fuel payment, at an overall cost of £500,000.
A total of £100,000 would be used to support 16 to 18 year-old to access training and education, while £40,000 would be used to “respond to a shortage of accessible childcare provision.”
Around £620,000 of the funding would go towards making “activity more accessible” for 16 to 24-year-olds by providing free memberships at council-run leisure centres.
The overall proposals are designed to tackle a £23.4m shortfall during the next financial year.
They include making £11.5m of “service efficiencies and savings” across a number of departments.
It is also proposed to spend an additional £9m on adult social care and £5m on children and young people due to both services facing “record levels” of demand.
Jack Hemingway, deputy leader of the council, said: “This is a responsible and honest budget.
“It shows the value of an experienced leadership team with a clear plan to move our district forward and deliver for our communities.
“We’re protecting our frontline services and investing in the things that matter most.
“The only way to do that sustainably is to balance being more efficient, raising income, and increasing support where there is rising demand for key services.
“Any other approach would be deeply irresponsible. When councils in other parts of the country take that risk, it always leads to services being slashed to the bone.
“We will never take a gamble with Wakefield’s future.”
If accepted by cabinet members, the plans will be voted on at a full council meeting on March 2.