March/April Report from County Cllr Jonathan Glen
Isn’t it great to see the sun again!
Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation have been all-consuming topics of late, but the day-to-day work has been continuing as well. Foremost in everyone’s mind is the big council tax question–where is our money going?
Hampshire County Council’s Budget
This graphic below shows you how each £1 of our Council Tax will be spent next financial year in Hampshire. This includes schools spending, social care, school transport and education, which make up almost 87% of our budget.
At our full council meeting last month, we agreed our budget for the year ahead. After a long debate we voted for an increase of 4.99% in Council Tax, the maximum percentage under current fiscal guidelines. We had asked the Government for permission to increase it by a larger amount but the request was refused.
Why did we ask for a larger rise?
None of us want to increase Council Tax. However, the County Council’s services are underfunded because for years we have maintained a low Council Tax rate. This is why we needed to request an increase of above 5% from the Government.
Hampshire’s Council Tax this financial year is £1533.24 for a Band D property – the second lowest in the country. In Surrey the equivalent rate is £1,758.60, West Sussex £1,714.95, and Oxfordshire £1,820.56 for example.
Each 1% of Council Tax increase in Hampshire nets an additional £8million in revenue for the Council. So, a 5% increase results in £40 million in additional revenue this year.
This may sound like a lot of money but it is nowhere near enough to meet the ever-rising cost of social care. Every month in Hampshire we see a net increase of 30 people living in care who rely on the County Council to pay their costs. Even at the minimum level of support, these 360 vulnerable adults cost the Council a further £18.7 million annually.
Every month we are also seeing an additional 200 applications for Education Health and Care Plans – the first step for children to register for Special Educational Needs (SEN) support. That exponential rise is the reason our budget for Home to School transport has increased from £24 million per year at the end of the pandemic to £105 million next year.
Add to this the recent Government increase to employers National Insurance, costs us a further £10.5 million from this year. We also have to include the cost of pay rises caused by inflation.
Although we already have cut over £700 million from our budgets in the last 10 years, we must continue to look for further savings. However, there is little room for manoeuvre and our reserves will be exhausted by 2026/27.
Our past repeated requests for core funding from successive Governments have fallen on stony ground.
Hampshire County Council is well run. It has the second lowest council tax in the country. We have used our reserves to balance the budget so far but this is not sustainable.
Taking all these issues into consideration Hampshire County Council has now approved budget plans for 2025/26, prioritising the delivery of vital public services to residents who are most in need, while ensuring budget pressures can be managed for the coming financial year.
Keep the Home Fires Burning…struggling to keep your home warm in Hampshire? 
The ‘Hitting the Cold Spots’ service is here to help! 
Get FREE support from experienced advisers at the Environment Centre (tEC), an independent charity. They can assist with:
Resolving energy billing issues
Saving money & energy at home
Advice line open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm 
Call: 0800 804 8601 
Email: staywarm@environmentcentre.com
Find more info & advice at Hitting the Cold Spots – the Environment Centre (tEC) and the council’s website, including energy efficiency tips and grant details: https://hantscoldspots.environmentcentre.com
Devolution in Hampshire – have your say in the Government’s consultation
Hampshire residents are invited to have their say on the once-in-a-generation devolution proposals for Hampshire and the Solent region in the eight-week public consultation launched by central government.
Devolution for Hampshire – have your say in the Government’s consultation | Hampshire County Council
Highways Information
Reporting Highway Problems
Links to report road issues are here:
Potholes: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/potholes
Tree/hedge problems: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/treehedge
Flooding/drainage issues: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/flooding
Pavement problems: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/paving
Broken or missing signs: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/brokensigns
Faulty street lights: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/streetlight
Faded or missing road markings: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/highways/report-a-problem/road-markings
Problems with rights of way: https://www.hants.gov.uk/landplanningandenvironment/rightsofway/reportaproblem
When reporting an issue, you’ll be sent an email confirming a reference number for the report. If you would like me to follow this up for you then do please forward that message to me and I will chase for you.
And now for something completely different…
I’d like to pay tribute to one of Hook’s own local heroes who has just received the High Sheriff of Hampshire Community Award! Martin Rudd is the lead Hampshire Scouts Volunteer for Community Development and Relations for the whole of Hampshire. For many years, Martin has led and represented Hampshire Scouts in all civic organisations and is recognised as the ‘go to’ person for major civic and ceremonial events, including the Winchester Cathedral Youth Service. Martin also leads the Hampshire Youth Emergency Service Response Group, supporting the emergency services when a civil crisis occurs, such as flooding. On top of this, he organises the Hampshire Youth Leaders Network, bringing together all uniformed organisations including the Fire Service, Police and St John’s Ambulance cadets. These forums enable youth leaders across the county to share good practice and skills that benefit the young people in their care.
Martin received his award at an impressive ceremony last month from the High Sheriff of Hampshire himself, Jon Whitaker JP DL.
Many congratulations!
Councillor Jonathan K. Glen
jonathan.glen@hants.gov.uk