A draft budget for the next financial year that will see Council Tax rise by close to five per cent is to be considered by Peterborough City Council this week.

At this month’s Full Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday (February 25), councillors will be asked to sign off on the draft revenue budget for 2026/27, which includes a proposed Council Tax increase of 4.99%.

Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Governance, Councillor Mohammed Jamil (Lab) outlined the proposition at a PCC Cabinet meeting earlier this month:

“The budget includes a council tax increase of 4.99 per cent,” he said: “this equates to an increase of £1.68 a week for a Band D property.”

placeholder image — Peterborough City Council

This will see the Band D rate rise to approximately £1,836.72 in 2026/27, an increase of £87.30 on the £1,749.42 residents currently pay.

The proposed 4.99 per cent hike will consist of a 2.99% general Council Tax and 2.0% Adult Social Care precept.

Central government limits the amount that councils can increase Council Tax by without holding a local referendum. This limit is currently 5 per cent; therefore an increase of 4.99 per cent is the maximum Peterborough City Council can charge without triggering a referendum.

When presenting his recommendations to Cabinet on February 12, Cllr Jamil asked his colleagues to consider the proposed increase as part of a bigger picture:

“We continue to charge one of the lowest rates of council tax in the country,” he insisted, “around £200 less [annually] than some of our neighbouring councils.”

Cllr Jamil has previously said that he and his council colleagues “never take decisions to increase council tax lightly.”

“We know people face their own financial challenges,” he noted,”but we also know that council tax is a key source of funding for us at a time when we still have a very real financial challenge to tackle.”

This month’s Full Council meeting is scheduled to take place at Sand Martin House at 7pm on Wednesday, February 25.