Households can be hit by a £103 rise to the typical council tax invoice as almost all city halls plan to impose the utmost attainable hikes in April.
Analysis by the County Councils Network (CCN) discovered that 95% (128) of the 136 county and unitary native authorities in England who’ve already revealed their funds plans need to increase council tax by the utmost permitted.
The Government is permitting cash-strapped native authorities to extend council tax by as much as 4.99% from April 1 with out calling a referendum. It signifies that a typical Band D family faces a mean improve of £103 on their payments over the 12 months.
It comes after the Government introduced a £600million money injection for struggling councils final month amid rocketing demand for social care. But critics warned the funding was solely a “sticking plaster” for the stricken sector, which has seen city corridor chiefs struggling to stability the books whereas defending frontline companies.
Seven councils have declared themselves successfully bankrupt by issuing no less than one part 114 discover since 2020, with Birmingham, Nottingham and Woking pressured to take action final 12 months. County authorities confronted a £1.1billion funding black gap over the subsequent two years – even with additional money from the Government.
Many councils have been pressured to make cuts to very important companies similar to social care, libraries and bin collections after central Government funding was slashed over the previous 14 years. Sam Corcoran, Vice-Chair of the County Councils Network, warned that excessive monetary pressures left native authorities in an unimaginable place.
Cllr Corcoran, Labour chief of Cheshire East Council, stated: “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 subsequent Government should set out a long-term funding plan for councils whereas additionally endeavor a complete reform programme to assist drive down prices, particularly for kids’s companies and residential to high school transport.”
Shadow Local Government Minister Jim McMahon stated: “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.”