Amendments to Wiltshire Council’s draft budget are set to be discussed at a council meeting.
One of these amendments includes a proposal for free swimming for children and young people during school holidays across facilities run by Wiltshire Council.
This suggestion has been submitted by Cllr Jon Hubbard and will be discussed by the overview and scrutiny management committee on Thursday, February 13.
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His second proposal would see an increase in Wiltshire Reablement Services, delivering an “increased capacity to work with individuals to improve levels of independence and quality of life and reduce reliance of funded long-term care”.
So far, these two amendments are the only amendments included on the scrutiny committee’s meeting agenda.
Any political group or individual member can propose amendments to the initial draft of the executive proposed budget.
If these amendments balance out and do not impact on the 2025/26 base budget in a detrimental way, they meet the financial test for an amendment to the budget to be considered by full council.
This full council meeting is set to take place on Tuesday, February 25.
It is not a requirement that budget amendments be submitted to a scrutiny committee in advance, but this process allows full council to debate and determine any amendments with assurance that they are legal, financially sound, practical and achievable.
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The leader of the Liberal Democrats on Wiltshire Council, Cllr Ian Thorn, has already confirmed that his group do not intend to propose amendments this year.
He said: “If we take control in May, we will be presenting a Liberal Democrat budget at the July council meeting, along with a new council plan to replace the Conservative business plan.”
In 2024, the full council meeting during which the budget was discussed lasted eight and a half hours, and all three Liberal Democrat budget amendments failed to pass the full council vote.
The amendments proposed establishing a wider funding base for the 18 area boards, removing charges for disabled parking, and providing funding for Visit Wiltshire or an equivalent body.
This year, any councillor’s amendments, including Cllr Hubbard’s, will also face a full council debate.
After publishing the 2025/26 draft budget in January, the leader of Wiltshire Council, Cllr Richard Clewer, said he was “proud” of the county’s current financial position.
The draft reveals plans to spend £37m more on services than last year, with a 4.5 per cent rise in council tax, rather than the maximum 4.99 per cent usually taken by the council.
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