Barnsley Council proposes balanced budget for 2026/27 while continuing to invest in the borough

Barnsley Council’s proposed Medium Term Financial Strategy sets out a balanced budget for 2026/27 that continues to protect our priority services. It also sets out plans that drive regeneration and support thriving communities and keep Barnsley moving forward.  
 
Cabinet will discuss the proposals on Wednesday 4 February 2026, before seeking approval at Full Council on 26 February 2026.

An investment‑led budget 

Our budget comes from a mix of national and local sources. A significant proportion comes from central government grants, which can include targeted programmes for areas such as social care, housing, transport, and regeneration. Money raised locally through Council Tax and a share of Business Rates are used to fund day-to-day services.  

External funding streams, which includes regional programmes and partnership funding, support projects which are helping to transform our borough. 

Barnsley’s proposed 2026/27 budget is an investment budget. We’re known for leading the way with our long-term plans and innovative projects and providing a borough that is a good place for people to live and work. 

Highlights of our proposals include:                       

• Continued investment in our Great Childhoods Ambition, delivering: 
  • A second year of our hugely popular MiCard scheme, giving free bus travel for under-18s across Barnsley and saving families money. 
  • A second year of school uniform grants, helping families with the cost of buying uniforms ready for the new school year. 
  • A second year of providing Year 11 support packs to help our young people who are studying for the GCSEs. 
  • Another year of covering the cost of Base 71 membership for Barnsley’s young people. 
• Continued investment in helping people to have more money in their pockets: 
  • Another year of supporting our pensioners with a cost-of-living allowance. 
  • Another year of supporting working-age people on Council Tax support and care leavers with a cost-of-living allowance and support to travel to work. 
• £10.3 million for our Highways capital maintenance programme, including £2 million from our reserves to help improve our roads, including addressing things like potholes. 
• We’re extending the support given to businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure sectors as the government's relief scheme will come to an end on 31 March 2026. 
• Continued investment in our Love Where You Live programme, helping our communities to feel and look better. 
• £55 million investment in our council housing, including a £24 million repairs programme. 

Council Tax proposals for 2026/27 
We don’t want to increase the council’s element of Council Tax by the 5% national maximum amount. Instead, we’re proposing to increase it by much less, at 3.4%, which is the same rate as inflation. This will help ease ongoing cost‑of‑living pressures while keeping our vital local services running. 

Cllr Sir Steve Houghton CBE, Leader of Barnsley Council, said: “We’ve worked incredibly hard to deliver a proposed balanced budget for 2026/27.  

“I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to keep Council Tax as low as possible. It’s always a difficult decision, but by keeping increases below the maximum at 3.4%, we’re doing what we can to support household budgets.  
 
“At the same time, this is an investment budget that continues to back Barnsley’s future. We’re investing in areas such as our Great Childhoods Ambition to improve the lives and futures of our children and young people and making your communities look and feel better through our Love Where You Live investment.   
 
“Throughout the year, we’ll be looking to make decisions on investment packages to continue making our health on the high street vision a reality, delivering our ambition to be the UK’s leading digital town ambition at The Seam Digital Campus, building on the great work already planned at Goldthorpe with a masterplan to 2040, and starting phase four of our successful Principal Towns programme. 

“The Medium-Term Financial Strategy also outlines that the next three years are not going to be easy for local government or Barnsley. We’ll be facing significant challenges due to increased demand pressures from Children and Adult Social Care, while considering the impact of national decisions. But we’ve always been a financially well-managed council, and we’re taking early, proactive measures to try to provide stability in future years. 

“Throughout our planning, our priorities remain clear: protect vital services, helping people, places and communities to thrive, making Barnsley the place of possibilities.”