Lincolnshire County Council is expected to increase council tax by 4.95% in a bid to reduce the impact of lost government funding.
The proposed 4.95% rise includes a general 2.95% council tax rise, which is just under the 3% maximum before the council would have to hold a referendum.
Lincolnshire County Council is also able to add a further 2% to the council tax bills to cover its responsibilities in delivering adult social care.
This 4.95% tax rise comes after Communities Secretary Sajid Javid gave councils new freedoms to raise an additional 1% in council tax.
Despite this substantial tax hike, figures from the County Councils Network have shown that the county council will only raise £2.5 million from the extra 1% on council tax.
This is nowhere near enough to offset a reduction of £11.2 million in its core funding in 2018-19.
In another move designed to relieve financial strain on the council, the proposed budget includes a one-off use of the authority’s reserves of just over £14 million.
Further significant savings yet to be finalised are also expected.
Between 2015 and 2020, the county has faced a 35% drop in core funding, equating to £69.4 million.
Councillor Martin Hill has launched his fairer funding campaign over recent months, arguing that Lincolnshire is unfairly penalised compared to metropolitan areas like London, where government grants will go down at a slower pace.
He said: “We’re calling for a sustainable funding deal which recognises our future needs, especially in areas like adult social care where costs are projected to increase by £8 million over the next two years alone.
“In counties like Lincolnshire where sparsity and rurality make providing services significantly more expensive, a fairer funding deal would make an enormous difference to Lincolnshire residents and the services they value.”
Senior councillors on the Executive committee will discuss the council tax plans at a meeting on Tuesday, February 6.
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A third man has been arrested in a police investigation into explosive chemical substances found and destroyed in the Sturton by Stow village near Lincoln.
Searches continued at the property on Queen Street on Thursday, as well as neighbouring areas, including waterways with an Underwater Search Unit.
This comes after residents were evacuated on Wednesday evening, and two people arrested on Tuesday, June 22, over handling stolen goods.
A Tactical Support Team from Lincolnshire Police also attended the scene. | Photo: The Lincolnite
The chemical substances were destroyed in a controlled explosion near the village on Wednesday too.
The third arrest is a man aged 30, on suspicion of handling stolen goods and possession of explosive substances. He remains in police custody.
An application to extend the detention of the two men arrested yesterday has been granted at Lincoln Magistrates Court this morning.
An Underwater Search Unit at the scene in Sturton by Stow. | Photo: The Lincolnite
Officers remain in the area and the investigation continues.
Lincolnshire Police said: “There is no risk to anyone in the area.
“We appreciate the local community will have seen a police presence and encourage anyone who has concerns to speak to their local officers.”
People in Lincolnshire are calling for more mental health support after a woman was involved in a crash with a bus in Lincoln on Wednesday afternoon, the latest in a string of tragic incidents in the city.
A woman in her 20s was hit by a bus on Moorland Avenue, which Lincolnshire Police were called to shortly after 3.30pm on June 23. Luckily, her injuries were minor, police said.
Paramedics attended the scene and the woman was taken by ambulance to Lincoln County Hospital.
An eyewitnesses commented on The Lincolnite. She described the woman as ‘clearly unhappy’, and helped her at the scene.
She said: “At the end of day this lady was clearly unhappy. She was clearly unhappy, but I feel for the bus driver and the people who saw it happen. I am glad I supported and helped her, I just wish I’d known who she was.”
Another person said: “Mental health is getting more serious now especially with the pandemic. We need more support for those with mental health and (who) should have got the support straight away at the beginning of this pandemic. I myself have struggled, but luckily I’m still here and so is this young woman.”
This comes after multiple mental-health related incidents in Lincoln this month, including a man found dead outside the Lucy Tower multi-storey car park and another male dying after being hit by a train near the level crossing bridge on the High Street.
A spokesperson for Stagecoach said: “We can confirm that one of our buses was involved in an incident yesterday (Wednesday) where a person was injured. Our first thoughts are with the woman who was injured.
“We will be carrying out a full investigation into the circumstances of the incident and will support the police and emergency services in any way we can.”
A spokesperson for EMAS said: “We received a call at 3.30pm to Moorland Avenue in Lincoln. The caller reported that there had been a road traffic collision.
“We sent a medical first responder, a paramedic in a fast response car and a double-crewed ambulance. The air ambulance was also in attendance. One patient was taken to Lincoln County Hospital via double-crewed ambulance.”
A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said: “A woman in her 20s had been involved in a collision with a bus. Paramedics attended the scene and she was taken to hospital for further treatment. Her injuries are thought to be minor.”
The hop-on hop-off open top tour bus will return to the city to launch alongside the Lincoln IMP Trail in July.
The newly livered bus will run between Saturday, July 3 and September 30, 2021. It will depart hourly from 10.30am until 3.30pm so visitors can get on and off at any of the stops and as many times as they want.
Lincoln’s 2,000 year history will be brought to life with live commentary from tour guides on the bus, from which people can find out about the Magna Carta, the iconic castle and cathedral, Roman Lincoln, Aviation Heritage and much more.
Representatives from Lincoln BIG, Stagecoach and the tour guides. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The first tour of the day is at 10.30am from Lincoln Cathedral (West Front) and the last one departs at 3.30pm. The tour lasts for just under an hour, with stops including Lincoln Castle, Lincoln Cathedral, Brayford Waterfront and the High Street.
Tickets for the bus can be purchased on the day from the Visitor Information Centre on Castle Square or from the driver. They are valid for two days (the day of purchase and the following day when the service is running).
Tickets for adults (over 16) are priced at £12, with children under 16 free. Student tickets are priced at £10, while groups of 10 or more can get a 10% discount
The bus can also be hired privately and tours can be customised to its start, finish and duration.
Lincoln Cathedral is among the stops for the Tour Bus. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The Lincoln Imp Trail will also launch on July 3. Thirty imps, designed by national and local artists, will be on display throughout the city of Lincoln, while one imp will be at the Hildreds Centre in Skegness – check out where to find them here.
Visitors can get on and off at any of the stops and as many times as they want. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Enjoying being back on the Tour Bus. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
There are also five community Imps, including Wind who was adopted by The Lincolnite, and is arguably the most experienced traveller of the group.
There will also be a wide variety of Education Trail Imps, decorated by schools across Lincolnshire, and five community ‘roaming’ imps that move among shops in Lincoln.
The Tour Bus will be back from Saturday, July 3. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
The Lincolnite Editor Daniel Ionescu and his adopted Imp Wind were among the passengers on the relaunched Tour Bus. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire will be playing its part in the NHS ‘big weekend’ of vaccine-related activity to encourage people to get vaccinated and meet the aim of offering everyone aged 18 or over a jab by July 19.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, who is England’s deputy chief medical officer, was chased by Geza Tarjanyi, while entering the Ministry of Defence building on Tuesday.
Lincolnshire’s coronavirus cases up to June 24.
Nationally, MPs have been looking at whether to exempt travellers from amber countries from quarantine if they are fully vaccinated.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was a “real opportunity” to open up foreign travel, and also did not rule out a summer holiday abroad this year.
Data nationally continues to suggest case numbers are rising as people continue to look to the exit date of July 19 for coronavirus restrictions.
Public Health England’s latest surveillance report said that the North-west England has the highest rate, with 238.9 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to 20 June.
Meanwhile Eastern England has the lowest rate at 46.9, but that is up from 37.4.
The latest data from the Office of National Statistics up to June 23 suggests the UK currently has one of the highest infection rates in Europe, with the reason mainly being put down to the Delta variant.
Coronavirus data for Greater Lincolnshire on Thursday, June 24
62,375 cases (up 177)
42,987 in Lincolnshire (up 78)
9,937 in North Lincolnshire (up 25)
9,451 in North East Lincolnshire (up 74)
2,195 deaths (no change)
1,622 from Lincolnshire (no change)
302 from North Lincolnshire (no change)
271 from North East Lincolnshire (no change)
of which 1,313 hospital deaths (no change)
816 at United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust (no change)
42 at Lincolnshire Community Health Service hospitals (no change)
1 at Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust (no change)
454 in Northern Lincolnshire (NLAG) (no change)
4,684,572 UK cases, 128,048 deaths
DATA SOURCE — FIGURES CORRECT AT THE TIME OF THE LATEST UPDATE. POSTCODE DATA INCLUDES DEATHS NOT IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIES OR IN HOSPITALS OUTSIDE AUTHORITY BOUNDARIES.
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