Contact Information
Resolved: At the end of the petition period
Peterborough City Council provides a wide range of services to the city's 210,000 residents, spending over £547m annually. We are responsible for many of the services that affect people's daily lives across the whole of Peterborough. These include things like social care for children and adults, schools, waste disposal, public health, libraries and roads.
Each year, the council sets a budget to determine how much money will be spent on services. The council has a duty to set a balanced budget, which is agreed by Full Council in February.
In recent years, that task has become increasingly more difficult as we continue to face the challenge of significant increases in demand for services in areas such as adults’ and children’s services and housing needs, and the rising costs of providing these.
We have to manage this within the funding envelope available, which mainly comes from council tax, business rates and Government grants. The Government has committed to reviewing the way councils are funded through its Fairer Funding consultation, and this work is ongoing and should improve our financial position in the long-term.
However, in the meantime, tough choices remain about how we prioritise our spend on services. We must continue to look for ways to make our services as cost efficient as possible, including developing innovative new ways of delivering them.
As we plan our spending for the year ahead, we need to hear:
- How comfortable you would be with reductions in spending across our different service areas
- Your suggestions for how to make further savings and increase income
- Your views on Council Tax options
You can find more information in our budget consultation document. We recommend you read this before taking part in our consultation.
Have your say - complete our survey
Tell us your views by filling in our online survey. It runs from 14 October to 25 November 2025.
Hard copies of the consultation survey are also available in Peterborough libraries.
If you require any of the consultation material in an alternative format or language, please email communications@peterborough.gov.uk or call our Customer Services Team on 01733 747474. The phone line is open between Monday and Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Take part in our social media polls
In addition to our survey, you can also have your say by taking part in our social media polls. Visit our 'balancing our budget' group on Facebook to take part.
What happens next
Your responses will be considered by councillors at a Cabinet meeting in December 2025, before the budget proposals are finalised and considered for approval by Full Council in February 2026.
What we spend our budget on
For every £100 we spend, this is how it is split between the various services we provide.
How we are funded
Councils have six main sources of funding:
- Council Tax
- Business Rates
- Government Grants
- Housing Benefit
- Dedicated schools grant
- Income from service users
For every £100 of funding we receive to fund our £547m gross budget, this is how it is split between the different sources of funding:
