Gloucestershire County Council' proposed budget will be discussed by the full council next week (February 21).

The council's cabinet agreed its draft budget for 2024/25 on January 31.

If approved, Gloucestershire residents can expect to see a council tax increase of nearly 5%.

In 2024/25 the council's entire draft budget will total £616.236 million, up from £567.133 million in 2023/24 - a net increase of £49.103 million.

The draft budget is based on a council tax increase of 4.99% (made up of 2.99% general council tax and a 2% adult social care precept increase).

The proposed budget will result in an average Band D council tax of £1,599.82 in 2024/25, compared to £1,523.78 in 2023/24 - a rise of £76.04. Nearly two-thirds of households in Gloucestershire are in Bands A, B or C and will see a lower increase.

The proposed budget sees a big rise in funding for vulnerable adults and children, while funding for economy, environment and infrastructure is set to fall.

Proposed funding for adults' services is set to increase by 12.38% from £18,385,100 in 2023/24 to a draft budget of £20,661,000.

If the budget is approved, funding for vulnerable children will rise by 12.41% from £13,010,600 in 2023/24 to £14,625,000, while other children's services will increase by a huge 29.56% from £2,688,700 in 2023/24 to £3,483,400 for 2024/25.

But the proposed funding for economy, environment and infrastructure will go down 11.26% from £9,283,200 to £8,238,300. In addition, there will be £27,959,000 grant funding available for economy, environment and infrastructure capital projects spread over a number of years from 2024/25, including a dedicated £9,896,000 pothole action fund.

The papers for the meeting next week state that achieving a balanced budget in 2024/25 will require the use of £3.9 million reserve funding and £15.1 million of one-off income from the Energy from Waste facility at Javelin Park.

The proposed budget is £5.8m higher than that endorsed by the council's cabinet on January 31, as it has been updated with additional Government cash, including a ringfenced £5.3m for social care.