Extra £65 charge to tackle city's social pressures

People in Salford face paying an extra £65 per household to cover the rising cost of adult social care, homelessness and other problems.

With a budget gap of about £6.8m, Salford City Council said it wanted to increase Council Tax by 5%.

City mayor Paul Dennett said looking after vulnerable people was one of the most important things a local authority could do.

The council is meeting to discuss the plans on 26 February.

The 5% increase would include a 2% adult social care precept increase.

People living in Band A properties would pay an extra £65 a year, or £1.25 a week.

Band A and B properties make up the majority of housing across the city.

Under the proposals, about 70,000 Band D properties face a council tax increase of £97 a year, which include putting about £2m into school transport for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Dennett added: "There is still much uncertainty about long-term funding for local government, and it is clear that without the benefit of grant support and one-off payments this year, such as the Recovery Grant, we would not be able to propose a balanced budget."

The council has made its own winter fuel payments to residents which have cost about £420,000, made a £100,000 donation to save Salford Lads Club and spent £7.7m to buy the city's community stadium from landowner Peel.

The move came under fire from the city's Conservative opposition.

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