Rising demand for social care, special educational needs and homelessness puts pressure on the council’s budget and the services residents rely on.
Raised by:Council plansUK Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) for the Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority
The issue in five minutes
The problem
Forecast general reserves: £22,300,000 (31 March 2027). Affects: Everyone who uses council services or pays Council Tax, especially people who rely on social care, SEND support or housing help.1 related measures
£3,000,000 Budget savings planned (2026/27)
Different measures, sources and periods: shown together, not ranked against each other.
Who says so
Official data.
What’s being done
Budget and Council Tax 2026/27Set a balanced 2026/27 budget with £3m of savings and a 4.99% Council Tax rise, and keep general reserves at no less than £12m at 31 March 2027.Lead Portsmouth City CouncilApproved · evidence 24 February 2026
Highways PFI expiry and future servicesPlan how highway maintenance will be provided when the 25-year highways PFI contract ends on 31 March 2030, through a dedicated programme team, with a full options paper (costs and risks) due at Cabinet in spring 2027.Lead Portsmouth City CouncilApproved · evidence 27 October 2026
Funded by
Funded by Portsmouth City Council£3,800,000 · Phased programme budget 2024/25 to 2029/30
No multi-year series of reserves or spending against budget in the topic files, so no outcome rule is set
The amendments agreed at Full Council on 24 February 2026 are recorded in the minutes but not checked here against the final savings and reserves figures
Who is affected: Everyone who uses council services or pays Council Tax, especially people who rely on social care, SEND support or housing help.
OpportunityLink city promises to visible results. Council budgets, projects and partnership pledges are published in different places. A common progress record would connect each commitment to its responsible body, money, next decision and measurable result. Proposals must remain separate from approved spending.In context →
The result for 2023/24, the latest year with final figures for all three councils. Each is a different kind of council, so these are not ranked.
How the gap between spending and funding was covered, and the general reserve left, 2023/24
Council
Type
Reserves used or added
General reserve at 31 March
Portsmouth
Unitary authority
Added £23.3m to reserves
£21.4m
Southampton
Unitary authority
Used £11.8m from reserves
£10.1m
Chichester District
District council (lower tier)
Added £7.9m to reserves
£17.0m
Reserves used means spending was greater than the funding planned for the year. It is not a cash loss. Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government revenue outturn, checked 2026-11-11.
Not yet known: No published survey of Portsmouth residents asks about this issue directly. General concern about an issue does not show support for any particular proposal.
Capital programme 2026/27: schemes added by amendment
Deliver four schemes added to the 2026/27 capital programme: a raised zebra crossing on Lawrence Road, traffic calming on Highbury Grove, five deployable CCTV cameras for Charles Dickens ward and more accessible play equipment.
Capital programme 2026/27: schemes added by amendment
Deliver seven small schemes added to the 2026/27 capital programme, including Anchorage Lodge refurbishment, security shutters at Drayton Park and a one-way feasibility study for Kensington Road and Chelmsford Road.
Fund the Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority’s investment fund at £44.6 million a year for 30 years once a mayor is in post, with a third of the annual amount in each of 2026/27 and 2027/28.
Funded by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government£44,600,000 · A year for the whole combined authority, once a mayor is in post; no Portsmouth share
Made 4 December 2025 · £44,600,000 (A year, once a mayor is in post (mayoral election planned for 4 May 2028); about £1.34 billion over 30 years is our arithmetic; no Portsmouth share is set) · Written statement HCWS1128: Devolution Priority Programme ↗
1 dated record
28 September 2026milestone The combined authority’s board began its Local Growth Plan, naming housing, skills, connectivity, water and energy as constraints on growth. No Portsmouth share of the investment fund was set. source ↗
Committed by Portsmouth City CouncilApproved
Highways PFI expiry and future services
Plan how highway maintenance will be provided when the 25-year highways PFI contract ends on 31 March 2030, through a dedicated programme team, with a full options paper (costs and risks) due at Cabinet in spring 2027.
Keep one public register that links each Portsmouth commitment to its decision, money, milestones, evidence and result, keeps original and revised dates visible, and keeps official commitments separate from proposals.
Start soonBuild nextLonger term
EstimateAllocatedSpentUnknown
Proposed lead: Portsmouth City Council democratic services with finance (proposed; not agreed)
First step: UK Facts can count last year's qualifying Cabinet decisions from public records and publish the list.
Proposals and votes by parties, councillors and MPs
What others have proposed on this issue and what happened to it. A pledge or campaign is not a decision.
Budget amendmentAdopted
Labour group amendment to the 2026/27 capital programme
Proposed by
Proposed by Labour group Cllr Charlotte Gerada
Where and when
Full Council budget meeting, 24 February 2026
What was proposed
Add four local schemes to the 2026/27 capital programme: a raised zebra crossing on Lawrence Road (£90,000 towards a £120,000 scheme, the rest from neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy), traffic calming on Highbury Grove (£56,000), five deployable CCTV cameras for Charles Dickens ward (£35,000), and £30,000 more for play equipment, taking accessible play improvements to £80,000.
Who can deliver it
Portsmouth City Council
The money
Capital, £211,000 in total. Paid for by moving £201,000 from the City Centre Road scheme and £10,000 from the DLTC Urban Spaces inclusive design budget, so no new money was added.
Outcome
26 for · 0 against · 15 abstained (counted from the named votes)
Conservative group amendment to the 2026/27 capital programme
Proposed by
Proposed by Conservative group Cllr Simon Bosher
Where and when
Full Council budget meeting, 24 February 2026
What was proposed
Add seven small schemes to the 2026/27 capital programme: redecoration and refurbishment at Anchorage Lodge (£20,000), repairs and security shutters at Drayton Park (£14,500), a feasibility study for a one-way system on Kensington Road and Chelmsford Road (£6,000), benches on Allaway Avenue (£5,000), a dog gate at College Park (£5,000), bollards at Canoe Lake (£5,000) and a bin at the Drayton Road shops (£1,000).
Who can deliver it
Portsmouth City Council
The money
Capital, £56,500 in total. Paid for by reducing the Horsea Lane allotments toilet (£10,000), Southsea Rose Gardens (£10,000), Cumberland House museum (£10,000) and City Centre Road (£26,500) budgets.
Outcome
17 for · 0 against · 24 abstained (counted from the named votes)
Reform UK group amendment: a smaller council tax rise
Proposed by
Proposed by Reform UK group
Where and when
Full Council budget meeting, 24 February 2026
What was proposed
Raise council tax by 3.49% (1.49% general and the 2% adult social care precept) instead of 4.99%; add a veterans’ hardship fund of £50,000 in each of 2026/27 and 2027/28; and give £100,000 of children’s activity grants in 2026/27, £20,000 each to the John Pounds, Fratton, Buckland and Stamshaw centres and the Stacy Centre.
Who can deliver it
Portsmouth City Council
The money
Revenue. The amendment would have cut £1,821,000 from the Civic Futures budget alongside the lower council tax rise.
Outcome
9 for · 28 against · 4 abstained (counted from the named votes)
Oppose merging Portsmouth into a larger council during local government reorganisation, so that it remains its own city.
Who can deliver it
UK Government (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) decides reorganisation
The money
No costs given.
Outcome
Campaign: not put to a council vote.
What has happened since
On 29 October 2026 the government said decisions for Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton had been withdrawn in September and are under review, with an outcome promised by early next year. Written statement HCWS432: Local Government Reorganisation ↗
Note: The page is undated; the date shown is when it was read.
Publish one record of promises, decisions and results: Coverage of qualifying decisions; Entries with current milestones; Corrections; Milestone slippage.
What is not yet known
No multi-year series of reserves or spending against budget in the topic files, so no outcome rule is set (another source needed)
The amendments agreed at Full Council on 24 February 2026 are recorded in the minutes but not checked here against the final savings and reserves figures (another source needed)
Cost of living is featured by editorial choice. Other issues follow the order respondents gave the council in its 2025 budget consultation, a survey people chose to take part in; it describes respondents, not all residents.
