Derby City Council has approved a balanced budget for the next financial year, which will see investments that will make a noticeable difference to residents.

The robust three-year Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) from 2026/27 to 2028/29 invests heavily into areas such as community safety, Derby’s cultural sector and improving our streets and public spaces, as well as protecting essential services.

Derby City Council is in a position to make investments because it has benefited from the Government’s Fair Funding Reforms, and a move to three-year funding settlements.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Strategy and Policy said:

For years the Council has had to make some very tough choices to protect the services that we have to a statutory duty to provide, such as social care, which affect some of the most vulnerable people in our city. These services are vital to the people who use them, and their families, and we need to ensure we can continue to deliver them as best as we can.

However the changes in the way the Government is funding councils means that for the first time in years we’re able to put some funding into services that most residents will notice as soon as they step outside. We’ll be providing more Public Protection Officers, and will be monitoring CCTV cameras for longer, to help people feel safer on our streets. We’ll be sprucing up our city with more weeding, improving our parks and open spaces – all the things to help us build a city to be proud of.

Councillor Kathy Kozlowski, Cabinet Member for Governance and Finance said:

In general the financial landscape for councils remains challenging, with increases in demand, inflation, interest rates and prices making it more expensive to provide essential services. While we can afford to make investments, we still need to make savings, boost our reserves, and run our finances as efficiently as we can.

Increasing Council Tax is never something that is taken lightly, and this year we’ve put measures in place to support more of our lower income households. However it is necessary to make sure we can make the most of Government funding available to us, protect our most vulnerable residents, and invest in areas where it’s needed.

Council Tax will increase by 4.99%, with 2% of this ringfenced for social care. This is the assumption used by the Government in its funding allocation and is a necessary step in supporting a balanced budget.

However, the Council recently approved plans to expand Derby’s Council Tax Support Scheme, to better support lower income households in the city. This comes into effect from 1 April and is open to households from all Council Tax bands, with reductions capped at the Band B rate.

The full debate from the Council meeting on Wednesday 25 February can be viewed on Derby City Council's YouTube channel.