Flintshire Cabinet set to debate proposed 5.46% council tax rise for 2026/27
Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet is being asked to recommend a 5.46% council tax increase as part of setting a legal and balanced budget for 2026/27.
A report for the meeting on Tuesday 24 February 2026 says the increase would consist of 4.98% for council services and 0.48% to help fund North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.
If approved by full Council, the rise would generate an additional £7,096,100 in 2026/27.
For a Band D property, council tax would increase to £1,914.92.
The report states this represents an increase of £99.14 per year, or £1.91 per week.
The proposed 5.46% increase follows a 9.5% rise agreed for the previous financial year, 2025/26.
At the time of that decision, councillors warned the authority could face “bankruptcy” without a significant increase in council tax.
How the gap changed
In December, members were told there was a remaining budget gap of £9.519m for 2026/27.
The latest report says that figure has since increased to £14.920m after updated spending pressures were added, including:
- £3.500m for rising demand in social care
- £1.587m for additional learning needs in schools
- £0.261m linked to temporary use of reserves in 2025/26 coming to an end
- £0.053m linked to the council’s toilet strategy
How the report says the gap can be closed
The report sets out a combination of additional funding, savings and adjustments to reduce the £14.920m gap to £0.
These include:
- £5.219m more in Welsh Government core funding than assumed in December
- £2.179m from revised cost pressures, including changes to pay modelling assumptions and adjustments to the fire levy
- A £2.000m savings target through the council’s Strategic Transformation Programme
- £1.810m in additional savings identified across service areas
- £1.587m linked to falling pupil numbers, described as a demography adjustment within schools funding
- £1.383m from a pension fund surplus following an actuarial review
- £0.554m from the proposed council tax rise
- £0.188m from reserves to cover one-off costs, including a social care IT system (£0.135m) and the toilet strategy (£0.053m)
- The report confirms Flintshire’s Aggregate External Finance, its main revenue funding from Welsh Government, has been set at £294.090m for 2026/27.
That is an increase of 4.1%, or £11.717m, compared with the adjusted figure for 2025/26.
The total proposed budget for 2026/27 is £478.772m, with income and expenditure balanced at £0.
Schools and social care
The report states that delegated school budgets would see a net uplift of £4.786m, described as a 3.84% increase overall.
This includes funding for teacher pay awards and additional learning needs.
Social care is set to receive a 13.98% increase in funding, with a net uplift of £14.581m.
The report says demand for services continues to rise and describes the current position as unsustainable.
Risks for 2026/27
The report highlights several risks that will need to be managed during the year.
These include:
- Pay awards being agreed nationally at a higher rate than the 3% built into the budget
- Continued pressure on social care services
- Ongoing homelessness demand and use of temporary accommodation
- Out of county placements, with a projected overspend of £1.831m in the current year and an additional £2m included in the 2026/27 budget
- Potential recycling-related penalties totalling £0.540m for 2022/23 and 2023/24
- A reduction in packaging funding from £4.983m in 2025/26 to £3.052m in 2026/27
The report also highlights an ongoing financial risk linked to holiday pay claims.
It says the financial impact is still being assessed following tribunal claims connected to the Employment Appeal Tribunal decision in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel.
The Supreme Court upheld that ruling in July 2022. The judgment affects how holiday pay is calculated for staff who work irregular hours or only part of the year, such as term-time employees.
The report states there are currently “300+ live employment claims” progressing through the employment tribunal.
Several preliminary hearings have already taken place, and the next preliminary hearing is scheduled for 5 March 2026.
The council currently holds £0.254m in reserves to meet potential costs arising from the claims. The report states there is a risk that the final cost “may be considerably more” than that amount.
The report states that Cabinet is invited to make final recommendations to full Council, which is due to meet later the same day to set the budget and council tax formally.
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