Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has set its budget for providing essential services at £10.8m for the coming year.

A Council Tax increase of £4.74 (2.99%) has also been agreed for the year - setting Band D payments at £163.14 for 2022/23 which equates to an increase of just under 10p per week.

The District Council explained that it collects Council Tax on behalf of the County Council, the Police and Fire Authority and town and parish councils but only spends 9% of the total.

Councillor Sybil Ralphs, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, said: "Public services have been more important than ever during the pandemic and that will only continue, and grow, as we move into recovery and learn to live with Covid.

"We're also acutely aware of the need to maintain, and where possible improve, the high quality services we deliver which our communities rely on and have a right to expect and this has been at the heart of our decisions when setting the budget for the coming year.

"We have, as ever, been mindful of the circumstances we have all lived through over the last two years and of our responsibility to keep any Council Tax increase as low as possible.

"As we look to maximise the opportunities, and address the challenges, of the coming year people can be assured that we will continue to take a pro-active approach to making sure we use all our resources efficiently and to best effect in delivering responsive and supportive public services to all our communities."

The funding is used to provide services including affordable housing, waste and recycling, street cleaning, leisure centres, parks and playgrounds development and maintenance, support for local businesses, crime prevention activities, benefits services and elections.