Crawley Borough Council’s budget for 2024-25 agreed

It includes a Council Tax increase of 2.99 per cent for what is paid to the borough. This equates to a £6.76 annual increase for a band D property, just 13p per week.

Rents on council-managed homes will increase by 7.7 per cent, as recommended by the government, and service charges will increase to reflect cost rises.

About £1.07 million will be taken from the reserves to maintain a balanced budget, a budget which includes a projected £5.25 million bill for temporary accommodation for people made homeless. The council’s caseload has been mostly caused by no-fault evictions of families from privately rented homes, coupled with underfunding of Housing Benefit by government.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Michael Jones, said: “I’m pleased we have been able to set a budget which maintains services despite the limited additional resources we have gained from government to provide everything they ask of us.

“I will continue to press government for more realistic funding of Crawley Borough Council and ensure we get maximum value for every penny we spend.”

To read the budget reports in full, visit: Cabinet Agenda 31 January.