By Don Mort, local democracy reporter
Council tax will rise and a West Leeds museum could be closed as the council seeks to slash more than £100m from its budget.
Leeds City Council is proposing to close Abbey House Museum in Kirkstall as it faces unprecedented strain on its finances.
Job losses, building closures and a council tax rise of almost five per cent are also being considered by the authority.
Latest figures show the council needs to save £106.4m during 2025/26 to avoid having it declare itself bankrupt.
The council already had to save almost £64m in the current financial year. A report to the meeting said the Abbey House museum closure could save £160,000.
Council leader Councillor James Lewis said visitor numbers at Abbey House had dwindled in recent years.
He said: “We’ll still have seven museums and gallery sites across Leeds that people can enjoy. Sometimes you have to make hard choices.”
Coun Lewis, Labour member for Kippax and Methley, said the existing collection at Abbey House would be made available elsewhere.
Kirkstall’s councillors this afternoon said they are hoping a local organisation might take on the building and keep the building in community use.
The council said the rising cost of placing children in residential care was a drain on its finances.
In Leeds, the annual cost of external residential placements rose by 75 per cent in the past four years to £119m this year.
The council was spending around £6,300 per week on some of the placements.
A council report said the authority could save £15m next year by reducing the number of children in the care system and looking after more youngsters locally.
Coun Lewis said: “We’ve seen the costs of private sector external residential placements go through the roof.
“Government inquiries have shown it is in many cases companies making really excessive profits.”
The council said it was planning for the equivalent of 243 full-time job losses, and could not rule out compulsory redundancies.
Cost savings also include a “pay as you feel” policy at city centre museums and galleries.
The council could also lease out Middleton Leisure Centre to save £220,000. Nearby Laurence Calvert Academy would take over some services at the centre under the arrangement.
The council has also earmarked ‘bowling green efficiencies’ in a bid to save £140,000.
Leeds Museums & Galleries could also see the introduction of ‘pay as you feel’ admissions.
Council tax would rise by 4.98 per cent, of which 1.99 per cent would be dedicated to paying for adult social care.
The council’s community committees – such as Inner West and Outer West Leeds – and Locality Working are also set to be reviewed.
The latest proposals will be discussed by the council’s executive board at a meeting next Wednesday (December 11).
Coun Lewis said the council would learn more about government action to support council finances later this month.
Follow WLD’s Cutswatch series, which is chronicling local government cuts in West Leeds, here.
There is 99 councillors in Leeds, do we really need 99? Get shut of half of them and save the money on there salary’s
Is placing children in residential care a priority then over the well being of all other Leeds residents who don’t need that care?
LCC and the Govt appear to launch fom one desperate measure to another – the latest proposals of cuts for 2025 demonstrate the research isn’t being done if the companies providing external sector are allowed to charge such high rates and make excessive profits.
Public money needs to be managed much better than it has been for the last 10 years LCC.
The Residential Care and Special Needs expenditure is a so called Statutory Duty that cannot be ignored. There are now a miriad of conditions that we had never heard of ten years ago afflicting children. Two thirds of some councils total budget now goes on this. Some people might say this is a parents responsibility.
You are ageist against the young.
The problem is older people in social care / old folks’ homes.
We have an aging population, by 2050 1 in 4 people in the UK will be above 65. The issue is too many poor old people sucking up all the country’s money. The kids need all the help they can get. Especially with the world being the way it is.
Why do old people automatically blame young people for any issue? You lot have a chip on your shoulders. Use the brain, God gave you one for a reason.
The final solution to the problem would be if central government took financial responsibility for adult and children’s social care costs, we dont have local councils funding the NHS, so why should they fund social care? That way local authorities will have millions avalable yo spend on everything else.
Open your mind.