At their meeting on Wednesday 18 February, the Council’s Executive Members will review spending proposals for the coming financial year for vital areas including social care for the most vulnerable children and adults, education and schools, waste disposal and recycling centres, roads and libraries.
Like many councils nationally, Hampshire continues to face intense financial pressures with rising demand and increasing costs in core services like social care and school transport for growing numbers of children with disabilities and additional needs. The impact of Government’s recent funding settlement to local authorities has also hit Hampshire hard, with the loss of almost £40 million per year of Government grants within the next three years, now making Hampshire County Council the lowest funded shire council nationally, per head of population.
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Nick Adams King, said: “By law, councils must balance the books, but every year the task becomes tougher and more brutal. More people need our help, costs keep climbing, and once again support from central Government has dwindled.
“Caring for the most vulnerable is at the heart of what we do, yet it’s also where pressures are rising fastest. As people live longer, more families are turning to us when their loved ones’ savings run out. In just twelve months, the bill for residential and nursing care for older people has surged by nearly £20 million. We’re now supporting an extra 45 older residents every single month and the cost of care keeps going up.
“The expense of getting children to school, especially those with special educational needs and disabilities, has rocketed too. By 2026/27, the bill will have almost doubled in four years, from £43 million to £83 million. These are staggering sums.
“But we are not sitting on our hands. We are leaving no stone unturned to find efficiencies, new ways of working, and opportunities to save money. So far this year we’ve delivered £95 million in savings, with a further £40 million expected, reducing the pressure on our already stretched reserves.
“As we head towards local government reorganisation across Hampshire and the Solent in 2028, the need for stable, sustainable finances is greater than ever. Whatever new unitary councils emerge to replace the 15 authorities currently operating, they will only succeed if the foundations are sound.
“Hampshire is well run and financially disciplined, but we receive very low levels of Government funding compared to other areas, and we are tightly restricted in how much income we’re allowed to raise ourselves. So, we continue to squeeze every penny, innovate, and deliver the best possible value for residents - all while using our diminishing reserves to keep essential services going and protect the most vulnerable. This approach has helped shrink our budget gap for 2026/27 by almost £40 million, but it cannot go on forever.
“We must be honest: with the second lowest council tax precept of any county in England, council tax in Hampshire will have to rise. Our Chief Finance Officer has been clear that a 15% increase would be needed to secure long term sustainability. My Cabinet colleagues and I are acutely aware of the cost of living pressures facing households, which is why we argued strongly for a phased approach. Government refused that request. Without greater support from Whitehall, a significant rise will be unavoidable at some point.
“While I will listen carefully to colleagues, I am not currently convinced that now is the moment for such a step. There are still levers we can pull - including working more closely with the NHS in Hampshire to share the burden of social care more fairly - to reduce both the scale and the need for future increases.”
When Cabinet meets to consider the 2026/27 budget, this will include recommendations for increasing council tax. The County Council currently has among the lowest council tax precepts of shire councils nationally.
Alongside revenue spending plans for the next financial year, the County Council’s Cabinet will also receive capital budget proposals, with building and infrastructure projects totalling £971 million from 2026/27 - using money largely collected from new developments and central Government grants to not only improve Hampshire’s infrastructure but also invest in facilities to help drive further savings in the Council’s day-to-day budgets, not least providing support closer to home for children with special educational needs.
The proposed programme includes:
- £187m investment in new and extended school buildings to provide school places for children in Hampshire
- £49m to support High Needs provision
- £71m for social care for children including a new secure children’s home
- £178m for structural maintenance and improvement of roads and bridges
- £216m for Integrated Transport Plan schemes£124m to address condition-based enhancements to the school estate
- £47m for waste recycling infrastructure to deliver improved recycling for Hampshire
A final decision on the County Council’s revenue and capital budgets, including the council tax precept for 2026/27 will be subject to agreement by the Full County Council on 26 February 2026.
View the agenda and reports to be considered at the meeting of the County Council's Cabinet on 18 February.