Brits at risk from council tax bombshell as 94 PER CENT of local authorities plan inflation-busting levy hike
New figures also reveal councils were planning to jack up parking fees and charge for green waste collections to make ends meet
MILLIONS face a council tax bombshell after it emerged 94 PER CENT of local authorities are planning an inflation-busting hike this April.
Rates are set to rocket by as much as 5 per cent across the country - taking average bills up by nearly £80 to over £1,600 a year.
New figures last night separately revealed councils were also planning to jack up parking fees and charge for green waste collections to make ends meet.
The revelations from the Local Government Information Unit sparked fury among campaigners and MPs last night. But Jonathan Carr-West, LGiU chief executive, said: “Council budgets are stretched beyond measure.”
By law town halls can put council rates up by 2 per cent. But they are also allowed to up bills by a further 2.99 per cent if the money is spent on social care.
An overall 4.99 per cent increase would take the average council tax bill for a typical ‘Band D’ property up from £1,530 to £1,606 - an increase of £76.
The LGiU said 94 per cent of councils intend to raise rates by over 1.5 per cent.
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Mr Carr-West said: “Local government finances across the country are in a dire state. “Increased demand coupled with the management of nearly a decade of cuts from the Government has left local government at breaking point.”
The comments threaten to trigger a fresh political storm following claims of a ‘sweetheart’ deal between the Tories and Surrey County Council over social care.
Surrey dropped plans for a 15 per cent council tax hike after being promised it will be allowed to keep tens of millions of pounds of business rates.
The move would have required a Referendum in a Tory heartland Cabinet Ministers Philip Hammond and Jeremy Hunt call home.
The LGiU yesterday said a total of five councils had been planning a Referendum to pave the way for an increase of over 5 per cent – but had now dropped the plans.
Westminster sources last night the Government was preparing a social care package for the Budget in March. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid told a private
Local Government Association conference last week that more help “was coming”.
Last night, Taxpayers Alliance chief John O’Connell said: “Hard-pressed families themselves struggling to make ends meet will be alarmed, especially as taxpayers across England have seen their council tax rise by nearly 60 per cent in real terms over the last 20 years.”
A DCLG spokesman said:
“Our historic four year funding settlement gives local authorities the certainty they need to plan ahead, with almost £200 billion available to provide the services that local people most value.
“We have also announced an additional £900 million for social care meaning councils will have £7.6 billion of dedicated funding to spend over the four years.”