The Green and Independents Group expressed dismay at the leading Group’s draft budget discussed at the Full Council meeting at County Hall on Friday.
As Leader of the Group, Councillor Kevin Foster (Hipswell and Colburn), spoke on behalf of the eight members of his group.
Councillor Foster said:
The Green and Independents Group cannot support this budget, and the main reason is simple: the impact on the cost of living for our most vulnerable residents is too great: it’s hitting them with a double whammy of a 4.8% rent rise, coupled with the 4.99% council tax rise.
At a time when many of our tenants are already struggling with the cost of living, rising food prices, energy bills and everyday essentials, a rent increase of this scale sends the wrong message. These are not abstract figures in a report; this is real money being taken from people who often have the least capacity to absorb extra costs.
This is the controlling group’s budget, and they chose not to involve other members early enough to shape it. That’s a political choice, and residents will feel the consequences.
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Rich Maw (Independent Councillor for Weaponness and Ramshill, member of Green and Independent Group), said:
A 4.8% rise might look small on paper, but for tenants it’s another pressure on already stretched household budgets.
We should have explored fairer alternatives.
The comments come as The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s UK Poverty Report 2026 warns that rent increases not matched by rising incomes will increase poverty rates and deepen poverty. It says that 40% of social renters were in poverty after housing costs. In this context, raising council rents risks pushing more families into hardship, debt, and homelessness.
See: https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2026-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk
