DORSET County Council has approved its budget for the year ahead, which includes a rise in the authority's share of the council tax.

Councillors and finance chiefs came together at a full council meeting to put a spotlight on budget plans for 2018/19 and set the level of council tax for the next financial year.

At the meeting, councillors agreed to increase council tax by 5.99 per cent to help deal with inflation and bridge the funding gap in adult social care.

They agreed to raise council tax by 2.99 per cent (the maximum without triggering a local referendum), plus a further 3 per cent to fund adult social care – which is in line with the Government’s 6 per cent levy (over a total three-year period).

The increase will cost the average band D household an extra £79.47 a year or 22p a day.

Another 2.99 per cent increase has been assumed for the following year – but the council will look at this closer to the time.

The 3 per cent social care precept is expected to raise an additional £6.6m a year for the council.

Leader of Dorset County Council Cllr Rebecca Knox said that around two thirds of the budget would go towards children’s and adult social care – including offering help early on, providing services in places where people go and helping people to stay independent.

Cllr Tony Ferrari, Cabinet member for community and resources, said the council also aims to invest in infrastructure and the social sector.

He said: “Although we are facing increasing demand for both children’s and adult social care, there’s also a lot of investment being made across Dorset – including our multi-million school improvement programme to deliver more school places, and recruiting more children’s social workers and foster carers to improve the lives of our most vulnerable children.”

Councillor Steve Ireland, Lib Dem group leader for Dorset, wasn’t convinced that the budget will be able to help support the most vulnerable.

He said: “In return for the additional council tax we will all be forking out next year.

"Our rural communities, people of all ages, are marooned due to bus service cuts, we are forcing more cars onto road we can’t afford to repair, and our children are roaming the streets because youth clubs are either struggling to stay open or closing.”

A report put before councillors showed the council has a base budget of £275 million for the year ahead. According to the council this will be funded through business rates, which have been effectively described as start-up funding in the report, and stand at around £38.5 million. The rest of the funding will come from council tax payers, including £4.1 million through collection fund surpluses and just under £233 million from the council tax precept.

The council faces a budget gap of £11.7 million. However, this is expected to be filled through £500,000 of collection fund surplus, £1 million from the flexible use of capital receipts, while the final £10.2 million will be achieved through savings measures in areas including children's services and highways. The council's medium term financial plan shows savings worth more than £10.2 million but this is to deal with overspends expected from last year.

The council has set a target of saving of around £18.3 million for the year ahead