SENIOR councillors at Cumberland Council have agreed that a public consultation over the authority’s proposed budget for 2025/26 will be launched next month.

Members of the council’s executive committee met at Allerdale House in Workington on Tuesday (November 26) to consider a report on the matter.

The consultation will open on December 9, 2024, and it is due to run for four weeks to January 6, 2025.

It was recommended that the authority to issue the consultation should be delegated to the council’s director of resources and that, once complete, officers should provide a report at a future meeting of the committee.

Councillor Barbara Cannon (St Michaels, Labour), the financial planning and assets portfolio holder, said the consultation was key to understanding the needs of residents and stakeholders and added: “We are at the beginning of the process of consultation.”

She said that the proposed budget included a two per cent rise in council tax which would help fund social care and she hoped the consultation would help make the public aware of the statutory services for which the council is responsible.

Councillor Mark Fryer (St Johns and Great Clifton, Labour), the leader of the council, said it was a “real eye opener” what the two per cent rise would fund and members agreed the recommendations.

According to the report, as part of the communication and engagement approach to setting the budget, the council proposes to seek views and engage all residents in a wider conversation about how the budget is set and how that money is spent.

It adds: “Cumberland Council provides a wide range of services to our communities, with our gross budget spend in this financial year of around £700million.

“Every year we must set a budget which balances the money we spend on our services with the money we receive from Government grants, council tax, business rates and fees and charges.

“Cumberland Council faces several budget challenges including increased demand, reduced grant income and inflation.”