Warwickshire County Council will set its budget on 5 February 2026, setting out its spending priorities and determining the level of Council Tax for the coming year.
Reform, who run a minority administration, have put forward their proposals for a budget with a 3.89% Council Tax rise. There are two problems. Firstly, Reform promised tax cuts, not increases, and they can’t disguise the fact that this is a tax rise above inflation. Second, the basis of their decision not to take the maximum 4.99% is removing money from reserves, not expenditure savings or an increase in other revenue sources. This approach leaves Warwickshire County Council services in a vulnerable position in the context of increasing demand for SEND services, Social Care and Home to School transport, and the Labour Government’s Local Government Finance settlement that favours big conurbations over shire counties like Warwickshire.
Conservatives like to cut tax, but we understand that cutting tax must be done in a responsible way if it is to be sustained. The Conservative Group at Warwickshire County Council have examined Reform’s proposals closely and it is clear that it is extremely difficult to responsibly reduce the local tax burden in the way they propose, given the pressures on the County Council’s finances.
The Conservative proposals adjust the ‘unknown future pressures fund’ to the recommended 1% of the net revenue budget, and this would mean a 4.89% rise in Council Tax, slightly less than the maximum increase. We don’t like seeing taxes rise, but it’s important that residents know their local services are protected and on a sustainable financial footing.
The Conservative Group knows times are tight and has therefore set out a minimum of new spending, and accepts most of the savings which Reform have outlined, with the following exceptions:
1) Warwickshire Conservatives are concerned that proposed cuts to the Community TB Service are premature and would like to see the current funding extended. The TB service contract was extended to April 2026, and local health commissioners (the ICB) are working on a new service specification to take the service into the NHS. However, Conservative councillors are concerned that the timeline will slip and believe it is essential for public health that there is continuity of service, at a time where TB cases are on the rise.
2) Warwickshire Conservatives are concerned that proposed cuts to the pre-school autism diagnostic service are also extremely risky. There has been no clarity from local health commissioners on their plans for taking on this service, and in the absence of any clear plan from the NHS, it is essential that Warwickshire County Council continues to provide this vital autism diagnostic service to ensure children get the right help early in their lives.
3) Warwickshire Conservatives are concerned that proposed cuts to youth services are unwise. Currently, Reform’s budget indicates plans to cease providing Youth Grants to voluntary and community organisations, and instead establish a Youth Partnership which will apply for charity funding via national organisations to fund Youth Services. While this might be a sensible plan, it is risky and local Youth Services reliant on the existing funding model need certainty, so we argue that the current system should be retained while the Youth Partnership is being set up.
The Conservative Group has also set out a small number of spending priorities:
1) Warwickshire Conservatives are calling for the addition of £180,000 per year to the gulley cleaning programme to reverse an operational decision taken recently by Warwickshire County Council to remove the two year gully cleaning cycle and replace it with a three year cycle. Conservative Councillors are concerned that the shift from two year to three year cycles, newly introduced, increases the risk of surface water flooding and thereby risks the safety of drivers and property, and increases the risk of damage when surface water freezes. Reducing the amount spent on gully cleaning is a false economy and we hope this addition will allow a return to the highest standards.
2) Warwickshire Conservatives are calling for an intervention fund of £100,000 per year to mitigate the closure of Warwickshire Rural Community Council in November of last year. WRCC suddenly and without warning announced its closure on 30 November 2025 in an announcement on their website. 88 years of service to the communities of Warwickshire and Solihull was ended after two years of losses, and the charity was placed into liquidation. Questions remain about the circumstances of its closure. Rural communities are already suffering under the Labour Government, and Warwickshire Conservatives want to see a fund open to applications from local charities and community groups for grants funding work thatrelieves disadvantage and supports resilience in rural Warwickshire communities.
3) Warwickshire Conservatives want to see road safety work prioritised within the existing Capital budget, such as improvements to the Stockton Crossroads which local Councillor Andy Crump has campaigned for alongside the Stockton Road Safety Group
Cllr Adrian Warwick commented:
“The sad backdrop to this budget is the Labour Government’s continuous war on rural Britain, and its crashing of our economy. Housing growth is stalling, economic growth is stalling.
In their desperation, they are turning to building in the countryside and swamping villages with development and reducing funding to county councils in favour of the metropolitan areas. It’s no accident that Labour-run Coventry have just had £179 million from the taxpayer via central government.
If it wasn’t for the sound management of Warwickshire’s finances by the previous Conservative administration, it’s hard to see how the County could have coped with the increasing demand on its service.”
Cllr Chris Kettle (Feldon Division) commented:
“The budget proposed by Reform does not reflect the damaging financial impact of the Labour Government’s policies, and specifically the attack on county councils, which will leave local authorities such as Warwickshire County Council almost wholly reliant on Council Tax increases for maintaining our spending power, and the delivery of services.
While I understand their zeal to minimise tax increases, I do not admire Reform’s plan to fund a smaller increase than is needed by dipping into the Council’s reserves to do so. The Council’s reserves are there to protect services from unplanned increases in cost, whether through inflation or increasing demand, not to fund unfunded political aspirations. The people of Warwickshire will see through this reckless approach, and I hope that they will come to their senses on the day.”
