Torbay Council’s Cabinet has tonight agreed its revenue and capital budget proposals for 2026/27.

In publishing the budget proposals for the next financial year, Cabinet’s approach follows the same fundamentals as last year – focusing on the ongoing and estimated revenue pressures and delivering against financial sustainability plans and the Capital Investment Plan.

It also ensures investment is put into services which make a difference to residents and visitors. People are now invited to have their say on the budget proposals in a consultation running from Wednesday 3 December 2025 until Sunday 18 January 2026.

Torbay Council has remained in a secure financial position for a number of years. This has been achieved through robust financial management and decision making. As a result, there are relatively few changes in this year’s budget.

There are no substantive cuts to any services and funding will be directed to offset inflationary increases and address a small number of areas where significant pressures are being forecast in 2025/26 and are expected in 2026/27.

This year’s proposals do contain a level of uncertainty, which has come from preparing this draft budget without knowing what the financial settlement from Government will be. This is not likely to be clarified until just before Christmas.

The new Fair Funding Formula is being used this year, which could see large variances for councils across the country. However, the Government’s plan to issue a multi-year settlement will help with the budget process and planning for the next three years.

It is still possible that the funding received from Government will exceed expectations. It did last year and could do so again. 

If extra funding becomes available through the funding settlement from Government, Cabinet is interested to know where residents would like to see this funding spent, if it exceeds the amount required to close our funding gap.

The Council currently delivers services worth £420million and will continue to use its resources to best effects. This will include investing in services.

Ensuring that residents are put at the heart of everything the Council does, Cabinet is looking to focus on the following areas in 2026/27:

Adult Social Care 

• In Adult Social Care (ASC), we have a long and successful history of integration, which continues with Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust delivering statutory adult social care services on our behalf. Integrated health and social care creates better outcomes for our residents and all partners. In 2024 we signed a new five-year contract, commencing from April 2025, extending our integrated arrangements with an increase in budget to recognise the demands and cost pressures.
• The Council’s commitment within the contract is an increase in contract fee of £1.7million, which represented the equivalent to 2% ASC Council Tax precept. Recognising that spend is currently well in excess of the budget provided by the Council, we committed a further increase in 2026/27, equivalent to 1% Council Tax. These financial commitments had to be made by the Council without the certainty of future government funding models for Social Care over the five-year period of the new contract.
• The Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) plays a critical role within children’s and adult social care, providing a diverse range of services and support that complement the statutory services provided by the Council and the Integrated Care Organisation. The sector continues to face significant financial challenges and in response to this, the Council is proposing to add £150k to the 2026/27 base budget to provide a fund through which additional support and resilience can be provided to the VCS.  This will help to ensure that services such as the Community Helpline are able to continue to deliver crucial support to individuals and families.

Community Services

• The Council has had a Financial Sustainability Plan in place since the 2024/25 budget for homelessness and temporary accommodation and this continued focus has resulted in a much more stable budget position. Recent budget monitoring reports show that current levels of demand and costs are now much more aligned with budgets.
• As a result of this work and the introduction of several Council-led housing schemes, providing additional accommodation pathways, the service is expected to provide a £500k underspend in 2026/27, which will be transferred into a specific earmarked reserve which is targeted to provide further housing support for those most in need.

Children’s Services

• The service remains vulnerable to changes in demand and high-cost fluctuation, in particular residential care where a relatively small change in numbers can have a significant financial impact.
• We continue to work diligently to manage these pressures, but it is proposed within this budget that we increase the budget for 2026/27 by £2million to recognise the demand and increases in provider costs.
• Our financial sustainability plan remains in place for this area as we strive to navigate this challenging situation, focussing on early help, prevention and the development of a sustainable Family Hub model. One of the actions progressing is the creation of additional placements within Torbay to offset demand and help mitigate against reliance on high-cost external placements over the medium to long term.

Place-based Services

• We are continuing to focus on Operation Brighter Bay and Operation Town Centres, responding to residents’ priorities. Operation Brighter Bay makes our Bay more attractive and safer, and Operation Town Centres addresses anti-social behaviour and its sources. We are proposing a continued focus on these two programmes, extending into all our residential areas.
• A reduction in external income and grants for the Economic Development services means an additional £200k is proposed in order to put the team, and its critical economic development activities, into a financially sustainable position.
• Following the recently announced closure of the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust (TCCT), work is underway to understand how the Council can support the continuation of services and at what residual cost. It is proposed to budget for £200k one-off costs in respect of urgent repairs and maintenance works required to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements in areas such as coastal paths.

Wholly owned companies

• The budget proposals include an increase in the SWISCo contract for 2026/27 of £1m, which recognises general inflationary increases in the cost of delivering services, including staffing costs, plus other cost increases and pressures in areas such as insurance, recycling, enforcement income etc.

Fees and charges

• It is proposed that Fees and Charges across Council services will generally increase by an average of 3.5% for 2026/27. Actual increases will vary depending on rounding and there will be some exceptions, particularly where the rates are set nationally such as housing, or subject to market factors and competition. This is expected to produce a further £200k of income to offset the increased pay and inflation costs associated with services.

Capital Investment Plan

Specific Projects underway include:

• Paignton and Preston Waterfront Scheme – work has started on the North Green end
• Oldway Mansion – Phase 1 continues
• Torquay Pavilion – Investigation works completed and preparing for reinstatement phase
• Hotels to Homes – Brampton Court in Torquay due to complete and other projects being planned or delivered
• Regeneration projects including Union Square and The Strand in Torquay submitted to planning, consultation starting soon for Brixham Central Car Park
• Continuation of our Schools and Transport capital programmes
• Capital commitments to develop detailed plans for enhancements of the Brixham Fish Market, a new Brixham multi-storey car park and expansion of employment space in support of high tech industries in Paignton.

Will Council Tax need to rise and what support is available? 

This draft budget is proposing to increase Council Tax this year. There is an expectation from central Government that unitary councils like Torbay will be increasing their council tax. This is built into their formula and calculation that agrees how much money we will be getting in the financial settlement. And like any business or organisation, the cost-of-living and rise in pay and costs continue to have a significant impact on the Council as a whole.

The rate Government is expecting us to increase by is 4.99% - 2% is the levy for Adult Social Care and can only be spent in this area, with 2.99% expected for other services. Cabinet though have decided, as they have for the last two years, to only increase by 2.75% - which makes the total Council Tax increase 4.75%.

As always, this isn’t a decision that has been taken lightly. The income from Council Tax though is vital and supports the services that the Council delivers and that are valued by the community.

Each 1% increase in Council Tax generates approximately £950,000 of income and it is the only means that the Council has to raise additional funding for place-based and housing services.

Cllr David Thomas, Leader of Torbay Council, and Cllr Alan Tyerman, Cabinet Member for Finance, said in a joint statement: “Two years ago, we set up Operation Brighter Bay and Operation Town Centres to show how important it is to improve where we live for everyone.

“Both these respond directly to what our residents have told us mattered to them. Operation Brighter Bay makes our Bay more attractive and safer, and Operation Town Centres addresses anti-social behaviour and its sources, so that everyone can ensure our town centres are welcoming. We are proposing a continued focus on these two areas, ensuring it extends into all our residential areas.

“We are also looking at improving the offer for our children and young people through to those who are working and want to improve their skills. Our play parks and activities are important to those who use them and we are listening to young people to understand what’s missing and what they would like. We are also keen to support job creation and encourage new businesses to choose the Bay as a place to base themselves.

“Alongside the revenue budget proposals, we are issuing an update of our plans for our Capital Expenditure over the next few years. Alongside a range of smaller projects taking place, these plans show the funding for the Paignton and Preston Waterfront Development which are incorporating the enhanced sea defences.

“There is also funding to progress the major regeneration projects for all three of our town centres as well as significant funds towards the first phases of the restoration of The Pavillion in Torquay and Oldway.

"There are also capital commitments to cover the development of detailed plans for enhancements of the Brixham Fish Market, a new Brixham multi-storey car park and expansion of employment space in support of our High Tech Industries in Paignton.

“Despite the challenges, we believe we are delivering for the people of Torbay as we promised to do. With you, our residents, at the heart of everything we do, we want to hear your thoughts. Along with your feedback, the confirmation of the Government settlement and feedback from members of the Council, this will help us to set a balanced budget for 2026/2027 and provide a sustainable financial future for Torbay Council.”  

The detailed budget proposals and link to the consultation are available on our budget webpage - Budget 2026/27 - Torbay Council

The consultation will run from Wednesday 3 December 2025 until midnight on Sunday 18 January 2026. 

Paper copies of the consultation questionnaire will also be available in all four libraries across the Bay from Friday 5 December 2025.

If you would like a copy of the consultation in another format or a printed version, please email engagement@torbay.gov.uk or call 01803 201201.