Households face £103 hike to council tax in April in fresh cost of living misery
Households will be hit by a £103 rise to the average council tax bill as nearly all town halls plan to impose the maximum possible hikes in April.
Analysis by the County Councils Network (CCN) found that 95% (128) of the 136 county and unitary local authorities in England who have already published their budget plans want to raise council tax by the maximum permitted.
The Government is allowing cash-strapped local authorities to increase council tax by up to 4.99% from April 1 without calling a referendum. It means that a typical Band D household faces an average increase of £103 on their bills over the year.
It comes after the Government announced a £600million cash injection for struggling councils last month amid rocketing demand for social care. But critics warned the funding was only a "sticking plaster" for the stricken sector, which has seen town hall chiefs struggling to balance the books while protecting frontline services.
Seven councils have declared themselves effectively bankrupt by issuing at least one section 114 notice since 2020, with Birmingham, Nottingham and Woking forced to do so last year. County authorities faced a £1.1billion funding black hole over the next two years - even with extra cash from the Government.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Many councils have been forced to make cuts to vital services such as social care, libraries and bin collections after central Government funding was slashed over the past 14 years. Sam Corcoran, Vice-Chair of the County Councils Network, warned that extreme financial pressures left local authorities in an impossible position.
Cllr Corcoran, Labour leader of Cheshire East Council, said: "No council leader takes the decision to raise council tax lightly as we know this will add to the cost-of-living for residents, but councils have had little choice but to put up council tax due to the increased demands, particularly in children’s services.
"The next Government must set out a long-term funding plan for councils while also undertaking a comprehensive reform programme to help drive down costs, especially for children’s services and home to school transport.”
Shadow Local Government Minister Jim McMahon said: “After fourteen years of economic mismanagement, any blame for a rise in council tax lies squarely with the Conservative government. Rishi Sunak’s raw deal has left working people worse off and watching the services they rely on crumbling around them."
He said there was "no magic wand" to fix the problem but vowed that Labour would deliver long term funding settlements to give town halls greater certainty if elected.
It comes after the Mirror revealed that the annual amount raised from council tax is expected to reach more than £57.4billion by 2028. The figure stood at £25.3billion in 2009 when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister. Labour analysis suggests this will work out as an average £523 extra per household when adjusted for inflation.
A DLUHC spokesperson said: “We recognise councils are facing challenges and that is why we recently announced an additional £600 million support package for councils across England, increasing their overall funding for the upcoming financial year to £64.7 billion – a 7.5% increase in cash terms.
“Councils are responsible for their own finances and set council tax levels, but we have been clear they should be mindful of cost-of-living pressures. "We continue to protect taxpayers from excessive council tax increases through referendum principles.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
