Labour Forces More Debt on Royal Borough

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead confirms that national government have advised the following decisions with respect to the RBWM budget for 2025/26 and our request for a financial support package:

• Accepts our prudent spending levels for services, totalling £127m.
• Has limited the council tax increase to 4% above cap, making a 9% increase in total for the 2025/26 financial year.
• Expects RBWM to fund the remaining budget shortfall with increased borrowing.

This means that for 2025/26, residents will see a 9% increase in their council tax bills. While this will be more affordable for residents, it means that RBWM's financial situation will not improve this year. This is because RBWM will still need to spend the equivalent of the originally proposed 25% increase and will now have to fund the difference by further increasing our borrowing. The effect of this will be to increase our debt and consequently increase our borrowing cost in the coming year and beyond. This situation is unsustainable.

The Council Plan, approved in April 2024, sets out a primary objective to put the council on a strong financial footing to serve the borough effectively. Whilst we have a way to move forward, the instruction from government limits our financial resilience and will increase the debt burden. 

The government invited us to submit a one-year solution for our long-term financial sustainability - our submission would have given the Borough a sustainable financial future. For their own reasons, Labour have decided to force us to borrow more, increasing debt and costing residents more in the medium term.  Increasing debt does not resolve the council financial situation but does allow us to set a balanced budget for one year. 

This decision from Labour defers the full resolution of the council's financial situation to the future. This will necessitate further above cap increases in future years, increases debt and creates a massive a financial burden on residents in the future. 

Windsor & Maidenhead Liberal Democrats 

3 February 2025

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