CUMBERLAND Council has agreed its budget for the next financial year, which will see continued investment in services and local communities despite a challenging financial situation.
Councillors met in Carlisle today [3 March 2026] to consider and agree the budget, which includes £373m for the day-to-day spending of the council. This pays for essential services that are used by people across Cumberland such as waste collections and disposal, road repairs, public health, children’s and adult social care, and leisure services.
Councillors also agreed some £280m on investment spending into the council’s buildings and local communities.
The budget agreement comes against a backdrop of many years of cuts to government grants for local councils across the country, including for Cumberland and its predecessor councils. This has meant the need for savings and an ever-greater reliance on council tax to fund services for local people.
Currently, 50% of the day-to-day spending by the council is funded by Council Tax. By 2029/30 this is predicted to rise to 59%, after a 9.4% or £16.5m drop in government funding.
In response, the council has developed a Transformation Plan to meet these challenges and ensure it is more financially sustainable in the longer term. As a result, the budget includes some £32m in savings and increases in income in the next financial year. These come on top of some £55m already saved in the previous three financial years.
The budget also includes a rise of 2.99% in the core council tax element of the bill for Cumberland Council services and a 2% rise in the Adult Social Care precept. Overall, this 4.99% increase will mean a rise to a Band D council tax bill of £1.83 a week for Cumberland Council’s services. As most properties are rated in bands A to C, the rise for most residents will be lower – for Band A properties it will be £1.22 a week.
Speaking on the budget, Cllr Barbara Cannon, Executive member with responsibility for finance and assets, said: “As a council we are not alone in facing a challenging financial situation with demand for our services rising faster than funding. Whilst we welcome the introduction of a multi-year settlement, changes to government funding does mean that council tax will be providing an ever-greater share of our income stream in the coming years.
“This is why we have to make difficult decisions when it comes to setting our council tax. A decision not to increase council tax, would have a major impact on our ability to deliver services in the future – services which people across Cumberland rely on.
“By comparison our council tax bills in this financial year are below the average for similar authorities, and some 18% lower than the highest bill nationally. Next year residents of Cumberland will continue to pay less for their services than many other comparative councils.
“We do remain acutely aware of the implications of increasing council tax given the ongoing cost of living issues for local residents. This is why we offer a very generous Council Tax Reduction Scheme, which costs around £22m a year, and can help reduce the bill of those on low incomes. Some 19,500 people already benefit from this support – some 12,000 of whom are of working age and 7,500 are pensioners. I'd encourage anyone who thinks they are eligible but has yet to apply to contact us.
“We are continuing to make ourselves more effective and efficient. Our transformation plan has already delivered tens of millions in savings and has allowed us to invest in our services in a way that will deliver better outcomes for our residents in the coming years. This plan, which has also put us on a more financially sustainable footing, will continue.
“We’ll also continue our investment into our communities with some £280m spent on our services, our assets and infrastructure and in our city, towns and villages for the benefit of everyone.
“It is because of this careful management of our budget, and investment into our services and our communities, that we are able to deliver on the priorities of the residents of Cumberland – whether that be repairing our roads and pavements, helping people get about on the buses, boosting economic growth, and supporting parents and children as well as those later in life.”
The council’s capital programme includes investment in bus services and millions of pounds worth of investment spending on road and port infrastructure in Cumberland. There is also £5.9m to be spent on Disabled Facilities Grants to enable people to remain in their home for longer, nearly £12m into schools alongside a further £2.5m for additional classroom space at Mayfield School and Branthwaite Academy. The budget includes some £10m to be spent on improving the area’s children’s homes.
Across Cumberland £21.6m is earmarked for the Carlisle Station Gateway project, £23.5m on the Industrial Solutions Hub project in Cleator Moor, and £14m and £16.8m on regeneration schemes in Workington and Millom respectively.
It was also agreed that £2 million of the Contingency budget is specifically held for Children’s Services, in response to concerns raised by the Director of Children’s Services regarding the volatility and increased demand within the service.
Details of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme can be found on the council’s website or by calling the customer solutions team.
