Bracknell Forest and Wokingham will ask the minister to limit each council's core grant cut to 10% a year. Bracknell puts the funding gap at £18m to 2029.

Bracknell Forest Council is asking the government to slow down the cut to its grant. Its leaders, with Wokingham Borough Council’s, will write to the minister responsible for local government funding.

They want any cut to each council’s core grant between 2026/27 and 2028/29 capped at a maximum of 10%. They will also ask the minister to meet them. (Bracknell Forest Council, 20 October 2026)

Why the council says it needs help

The government changed the way it shares money between councils at the end of last year, after its Fair Funding Review. The council says that as an area considered more affluent than others, it loses out.

Bracknell Forest estimates the change leaves it with a funding gap of £18 million between 2026 and 2029. Its complaint is about speed as much as size: it says the cut has come too quickly to change how services are run.

Councillor Helen Purnell, the council leader, said: “as a local authority that is considered more affluent than others, we face losing a considerable sum of money very quickly. This will make it harder for us to continue to provide good quality and much-needed services for our residents.”

She added that “transformation of core services takes time”.

What the settlement already meant this year

The council’s own budget papers set out how hard the change hit. (Bracknell Forest Council, 2026 to 2027 budget)

  • The council says it got the lowest funding settlement of any unitary council in England.
  • Its resources will rise by only 0.16% over three years, even with the council tax rises the government allows.
  • It predicted a funding gap of £10.1 million for 2026/27 alone.

To balance this year’s budget, agreed on 25 February, the council: (Bracknell Forest Council, 26 February 2026)

  • raised council tax by 4.99%, the rise the government expected
  • made more than £3 million of savings, including staff cuts, contract reviews and stopping some non-essential services
  • drew more than £5 million from its reserves

The pressure this year

The first quarter report, published on 30 September, shows the strain has not eased. Officers are trying to find £5 million of in-year savings so less has to come out of reserves. (Bracknell Forest Council, council plan overview report: budget position)

Directorates were already forecasting spending £0.671 million above budget. Including risks that cannot yet be costed, the potential overspend is £5.160 million. The report says many early-year risks are usually managed down by the year end. We covered the detail in our report on the council’s £5.16m overspend risk.

What it means for you

Nothing changes on your bill now. The letter asks for a slower cut; it does not change this year’s council tax, which is already set. Our council tax bands page has the 2026/27 charge for every band and parish.

The answer matters for next year’s budget. Last year the draft budget went out for public consultation in December. If the government does not soften the cut, the gap has to be met from savings, reserves or council tax.

The council has not published the letter or said when it will be sent. We will report the minister’s reply if it is made public.