Leeds council tax to rise by 4.99% as final budget plans for 2026/27 published - full report
Leeds City Council has announced plans for a 4.99 per cent council tax increase in its final budget for 2026/27.
The rise, the maximum allowed under current legislation, includes 2 per cent dedicated to adult social care costs. For a band D property in Leeds the increase equates to £90.61 for the year or £1.74 extra per week.
Leeds City Council says its budget for 2026/27, published yesterday, will focus on improving essential and day-to-day services residents rely on, such as free bin and recycling collections, road maintenance and tackling potholes as well as cracking down on fly tipping in Leeds communities.
Underpinning the council’s budget planning are the key principles of the four Leeds Ambitions around health and wellbeing, inclusive growth, supporting communities to thrive and for the city to be sustainable and resilient, tackling poverty and inequality.
Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We are very pleased to have not only significant additional funding for a second year but also the stability around knowing our financial position for the next three years, which makes a big difference to planning how best to make use of our available resources to support people in Leeds and make their lives better and easier.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to help our most vulnerable residents, but also on improving and delivering the everyday services people expect and rely on such as free bin collections, supporting recycling, tackling potholes and combatting fly tipping.
“The council and its staff have worked incredibly hard since 2010 to make significant savings every year, and while that challenge continues we look forward to developing the city with confidence in the coming years, through our Team Leeds approach to working with everyone in all communities to make Leeds the best city it can be and a great place to work, live and visit.”
Council tax in Leeds is currently the second lowest of the comparable English core cities, and similarly second lowest of the West Yorkshire districts. A measure of the council’s commitment to supporting vulnerable residents is seen in 67 per cent of the council’s net budget for next year being for children and families and adults and health.
As part of the budget, City Council also plans a small number of staff redundancies, with a consultation ongoing, and from April 1, the council will begin paying the increased Real Living Wage of £13.45 per hour to support lower-paid workers.
The budget also includes providing resilience to the council’s long-term financial position by returning £49.6m to its reserves next year, and by £55.3m by 2030/31.
The final budget plans will be debated at a full council meeting on February 25. Proposed key investments include:
- £54.6million to support care services in Leeds for people of all ages.
- £12.4m to respond to increased demand for temporary accommodation.
- £8m to maintain waste services, including free recycling and green garden waste collection, as well as introducing a food waste collection trial in brown bins.
- £13m annual investment into highway maintenance, though a backlog worth approximately £300m remains.
- Increased Real Living Wage of 13.45 per hour.