Bournemouth, Christchurch, Political, Poole | Posted on February 26th, 2026 | return to news
BCP Council approves 6.74 per cent Council Tax rise
The council says the vast majority of funding is directed towards supporting the most vulnerable children and adults.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has approved a budget that will see Council Tax bills rise by 6.74 per cent. For a band D property, this means an increase of £10.42 per month.
The budget confirms spending of £457 million to run services for more than 400,000 residents across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, with the vast majority of funding directed towards supporting the most vulnerable children and adults.
Like local authorities across the country, BCP Council says it is experiencing rising demand for services alongside reduced national government funding. Under the government’s new fair funding formula, the council is predicted to lose at least £15 million per year by 2028/29.
Even with this increase, BCP says Council Tax bills in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole remain below the average for similar councils.
Cllr Millie Earl, leader of BCP Council, said: “This budget takes a prudent and responsible approach with taxpayers’ money. It focuses on protecting the services our residents rely on most, particularly those that support our most vulnerable communities.
“Like many councils across the country, we are under real financial strain. More people than ever, especially vulnerable adults and children, are turning to us for help, and they have a legal right to receive that support.
“At the same time, the cost of providing these essential services continues to rise, while the funding we receive from national government has been reducing. Overall, this has left us with a projected budget gap of at least £15 million per year by 2028/29.
“Times are tough, but our communities are kind, resilient and supportive. As a council, we will continue to stand up for our residents, especially at a time when national government has been clear about redistributing funding away from places it views as having less need.”
Like many other local authorities, a major cause of BCP Council’s financial challenge is the national funding gap for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services. BCP Council currently has a historic SEND deficit of £183.6 million, alongside a forecast shortfall of nearly £200 million in 2026/27 and 2027/28, creating a total estimated debt of £380 million by March 2028.
Earlier this month, the government announced that it could contribute 90 per cent (£165.2m) towards this historic SEND deficit, subject to an approved SEND local reform plan, but it has yet to confirm how or when the council will receive this support.
Even if successful in getting the full 90 per cent of the debt written off, initial calculations show that this would still leave BCP Council with at least £38m of debt remaining on 31 March 2028 for a service that is the government’s responsibility and for which the council has few reserves left to repay it.
Council Tax bills will begin arriving with residents in the coming weeks and will include a clear breakdown of how Council Tax is spent.
The full budget report can be found on the council’s website, along with a recording of the meeting, which is also available on YouTube.
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