Nine in 10 councils will raise tax by maximum... yet cut services

MOST councils in England plan to impose the highest tax hikes they can alongside cuts in ‘desperate measures’ to avoid bankruptcy.

A report found nine in ten local authorities will increase council tax, or hike charges on waste or parking. Most will cut spending on services, while one in 12 said they risk going bankrupt.

The Local Government Information Unit report claims struggling families will bear the brunt as most councils intend to increase council tax by the largest permissible amount without a referendum – between 2.5 and 3 per cent – and almost every council providing social care will use powers to demand a further 2 per cent increase from April.

That would mean households in an average Band D home facing a possible hike of £98 to £2,064.

Jonathan Carr-West, of the LGIU, said councils’ confidence in their finances was at ‘an all-time low’ amid a fall in funding from central government.