Let’s Talk Money

Overview

Every year Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is required to set a budget to determine how we spend our money.

The money we spend on supporting people in our communities must balance with the income we receive from Council Tax, Business Rates, Government grants, and income from fees and charges for our services.

We are responsible for many of the services that affect people’s daily lives across the whole of the Borough. These include things like waste collection, maintaining public spaces like roads and parks, housing support, social care and safeguarding for children and adults, and regulated services such as Trading Standards and Licensing. We also issue permits for highway works, ensure food safety, manage libraries and leisure facilities, and offer a range of advice and support services.

We’ve set out how the Council is funded and how we spend money to give you some context for this survey. We encourage you to read this on our website before answering any questions

Demand for our services continues to grow - in particular our care and support services for adults and children in need, and the costs of providing these services continue to rise.

We know we will have to make some very difficult decisions during the setting of the 2026-27 budget. Closing the budget gap this year and in future years will be extremely challenging so we need to ensure we continue to have a clear and sustainable plan.

We are talking to our communities and residents ahead of the 2026-27 budget being proposed to Council so we can understand and consider your views and feed them into the budget setting process.

The results of this survey will be used to inform the budget decisions, whilst taking into account the legal requirements around service provision and a balanced budget.