Budget

2026 to 2027 budget

Like all local authorities, the council is experiencing financial pressures that mean balancing the budget is increasingly challenging.

At the same time, we are working hard to make sure we retain good, high-quality services for residents.

Public consultation

As always, we consulted on draft budget proposals. The consultation was between December 2025 and January 2026.

Hearing your views is a very important part of the budget setting process. The council received 133 formal responses to the budget consultation. Additional informal feedback was also captured at public engagement sessions run by our councillors across the borough.  

There was overwhelming public support for the record level of spending proposed  to maintain and enhance roads across the borough that have been affected by the adverse weather conditions we have seen over the winter.  Proposed investment in our leisure facilities also received positive feedback.

Final budget proposal

Funding changes introduced by the government mean we need to fundamentally rethink how the council operates in the years ahead.  Bracknell Forest has received the lowest funding settlement of any unitary council in the country.  Our resources will increase by only 0.16% over the next 3 years, even with permitted increases in council tax. This is insufficient to cover inflationary costs and demand increases for statutory services.

Our councillors reluctantly accepted that there was no viable alternative to raising council tax, which will be increasing by 4.99%. However, we will remain in the lowest 10% of unitary councils.

We recognise that any increase is unwelcome and for some households, may be unaffordable. For this reason, working age and pensioner households receiving council tax support will once again see a reduction in their tax bill of £50 in 2026 to 2027.  Other support will be available during the year for low-income households through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, a new consolidated grant made available by the Government.

Any households who are struggling to keep up with their payments should contact Revenue Services who will be able to provide advice and support.

View our annual accounts

The following documents are our annual statement of accounts.

The financial statements include:

• the statement of accounts
• the narrative report
• independent auditor’s report

2024 to 2025 statements

2023 to 2024 statements

2022 to 2023 statements

2021 to 2022 statements

Older accounts

Treasury management reports

Further documents

How your money is spent 2024 to 2025