Council tax rises: average bill to increase by £100 or more

Nearly every household in England is facing council tax rises of £100 or more as councils struggle to pay for adult social care, children’s services, housing and homelessness support.

The stark warning comes from the Local Government Information Unit think tank in its annual State of Local Government Finance report, published today.

The study says that 95% of councils will hike council taxes this year, with 93% also planning to increase fees for services such as parking and waste disposal, The Daily Telegraph reports. Most taxpayers are likely to see council tax rise by up to 3%, in line with inflation, although larger authorities can increase taxes by up to 5.99%, says the BBC.

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The biggest pressure on council budgets comes from children’s services, followed by adult social care, and housing and homelessness, say the Telegraph.

This week Northamptonshire became the first town hall in two decades to declare effective bankruptcy, The Guardian says. Nine out of ten local authorities will be millions of pounds over budget by the end of the financial year, according to The Times.

Surrey, the UK’s richest county, has been hit by a £100m cash crisis. Labour councillor Robert Evans blamed the Government for not funding local councils properly. However, the TaxPayers’ Alliance points to poor council management, including last year’s extra £15,000 payment for Surrey’s £270,000-a-year chief executive, says The Times.

More than half of local authorities plan to cut spending on parks, leisure centres, youth centres, libraries, art galleries and museums.