Bedford Borough Council will raise more than £133.5 million from council taxpayers in 2026/27 after approving a near-maximum increase, with councillors told the rise was effectively unavoidable under government funding rules.
At Full Council last night (Wednesday), members approved the authority’s formal tax resolution confirming total planned expenditure of £495.3 million. Government grants and other income amount to £361.8 million, leaving £133.5 million to be collected locally.
Of that total, £130.89 million relates to the borough council’s own services, excluding parish precepts.
Read: Council plan to save up to £60million on adult services costs over next four years
Near-maximum increase
The Borough Council element of council tax includes a 2.99 per cent general increase and a two per cent adult social care precept, remaining within the government’s referendum limits.
Read: Bedford Borough Council Tax Resolution – Full Council 25 February 2026 Pages 1-5
Finance portfolio holder cllr Marc Frost (Conservative, Wixams) said the increase was driven by central government funding rules.
“It’s actually predicated on the funding formula from the central government,” he said, “If we didn’t do the 4.99, then it messes up the entire funding formula, and we wouldn’t have got our EFS support.
“So we had no choice but to do that even though we don’t want to.”
However, opposition councillors disputed that characterisation.
Read: Budget changes approved as Bedford Borough Council drops savings plans and adds town centre funding
Labour cllr Sue Oliver (Kempston North) said: “You are now proposing the maximum increase allowed, not as a choice, but because you have to.”
Green cllr Lucy Bywater (Castle) said her party did not “like increases in council tax” and described it as a “regressive and unfair tax”, adding that many residents were already under significant cost-of-living pressure.
She noted the borough’s 100 per cent council tax discount for the lowest-income households had been retained.
Cllr Frost said the financial pressures were largely driven by children’s services placements, adult social care and temporary accommodation costs.
The overall average Band D council tax bill, including borough, police, fire and parish elements, will rise to £2,471.74.
The resolution was approved following a recorded vote, with 20 councillors voting in favour and 24 abstaining.
Budget reliant on support
Councillors were also told the 2026/27 budget is balanced only because of Government Exceptional Financial Support (EFS), after questions were raised about whether the authority had effectively set a deficit budget.
Read: Government confirms £80m emergency support for Bedford Borough Council
The council’s section 151 officer, Julie McCabe, confirmed the approved budget was “reliant on the EFS, which has now been approved”.
When asked whether the council had set a deficit budget, she said: “The council has set a budget which was reliant on the EFS, which has now been approved.
“The income of the budget is less than the expenditure. The expenditure has been transferred to the capital programme to be funded by borrowing, or capital receipts, or some of the other levers that potentially could be identified.”
She also confirmed the council would need to utilise part of the £22 million EFS approved for 2025/26 to get through the final weeks of the financial year.
The meeting formally noted a government letter confirming the secretary of state is “minded to approve” up to £80 million in EFS across 2025/26 and 2026/27, while raising “significant concerns” about the council’s ability to comply with its Best Value Duty.
Budget correction
Members were also asked to correct a drafting error in the previously approved budget report. Although the detailed tables showed a 2026/27 Budget Requirement of £228.045 million, the recommendation mistakenly referred to £225.403 million.
Ms McCabe said the calculations were “sound and robust” and that there was “no change to the content of the budget”.
The correction to the £228.045 million figure was approved by 15 votes to 14.
Speaking for the Green Group, cllr Paul Edmonds (Castle) said the EFS provided “breathing space” but added the administration had “remortgaged the house to pay for the utility bills”.
Reporting by John Guinn, Local Democracy Reporter
Edited by Paul Hutchinson, Bedford Independent
