A BUDGET set to be presented for a vote this evening will prevent the council from bankruptcy and the prospect of government intervention, the council leader has said.

Phelim Mac Cafferty, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said that the budget aims to "protect council services from the onslaught of a decade or more of government cuts".

He said that while other local authorities have been forced to declare bankruptcy, Brighton and Hove's budget is "balanced".

Proposals in the budget include an increase in council tax of 2.99 per cent and a hike in the cost of parking permits.

But Cllr Mac Cafferty said he hopes planned cuts to programmes such as the Youth Arts Award scheme can now be avoided.

He said: "We've used the period of time since the budget papers were published for the policy and resources committees to really listen to some of the key sectors.

"One of the key changes is to the Youth Arts Award scheme, which was initially down for a cut, and we will be completely funding the ward budget as well through the amendment."

The ward budget, where councillors support small-scale projects in their area, has been due to be cut in half to £500 - a move described as "shameful" by Labour co-leader Carmen Appich.

Cllr Tom Druitt, joint finance lead, told The Argus: "This budget is about supporting services and protecting our council services from government cuts.

"We've lost over £100 million worth of annual funding from government, and this year it's particularly difficult because we have obviously the effects of the pandemic and we have huge inflation.

"There's not a councillor on the whole council that wants to do half of the savings proposals in those papers.

"The only things that we can actually say hand on heart are good savings are where we've managed to do modernisation and preventative work."

However, Cllr Druitt said that, over the course of six months in developing this year's budget, the council has been able to prevent much harsher cuts to council services.

"If you think about what kinds of things were on the table at the beginning of that process - one by one, we have taken them back off.

"All the council-run nurseries, all of the community libraries - all these things were part of the mix to be considered, but we said no and we're going to protect those things."

He also said that, while residents face the pressures of the cost of living crisis, the council is investing to make sure that services for vulnerable residents are protected and that the poorest are protected from the greatest impacts of council tax increases, as well as fees and charges.

Cllr Mac Cafferty added that part of those protections includes a cap on the lowest income households so they "won't feel the effects of such a big increase".

He said: "We take the concerns of residents really seriously but we have a stark choice - we can either close down public services, or you can increase charges.

"There are a limited number of ways in which we can seek to fill the gap and it is important to us that we protect frontline services - but we are listening to the lowest income households."

The 2022-23 budget is due to be set at a meeting of the full council at the Brighton Centre this afternoon.

It is due to be webcast on the council's website.