Households face biggest council tax rises in 14 years

Average 5.1% increase on band D properties comes despite local authorities cutting services

Households will be hit with the steepest council tax rise in 14 years from April, with the average household in England paying £81 more at a time when most local authorities are driving though big cuts to services.

The inflation-busting average 5.1% increase on band D properties in England pushes up the average bill to £1,671. Almost all councils that provide social care have opted to levy an average £30 charge to help meet the spiralling cost of adult care services, official figures show.

Council leaders warned that despite the steep rise, town halls would still have to reduce services. They said they had little choice but to ask residents to

Lord Porter, the Conservative chair of theLocal Government Association, said: “The extra income this year will help offset some of the financial pressures they face but the reality is that many councils are now beyond the point where council tax income can be expected to plug the growing funding gaps they face. This means councils will have to continue to cut back services or stop some altogether to plug funding gaps.

“The need for adequate funding for local government is urgent. We have repeatedly warned of the serious consequences of funding pressures facing services caring for the elderly and disabled, protecting children and tackling homelessness for the people that rely on them and the financial sustainability of other services councils provide.”

The shadow communities secretary, Andrew Gwynne, said: “This shows that under the Tories you pay more for less. Over the last eight years, council budgets have been reduced by 50% and services cut, with local people forced to pick up the slack as council tax bills soar.”

The communities secretary, Sajid Javid, said council tax bills were 7.6% lower in real terms compared with 2010, when the Tories came into government. “Under the last Labour government council tax doubled and in Labour-run Wales it has trebled. It’s Conservative councils across the country who are delivering high-quality services while managing taxpayers’ money more effectively.”

On Tuesday, Javid sent in government commissioners to directly control the finances and governance of Northamptonshire county council, which declared effective bankruptcy in February. The Tory-run council is putting up council tax bills by 5.98% from April while pushing though cuts of £40m, including closing 21 of its 36 libraries.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures show the biggest year-on-year rises of £86 are found in predominantly Conservative-run county councils, where the average bill is £1,749. The lowest, at £55, for an average bill of £1,405, are in London. The rise is the biggest annual increase since the height of New Labour in 2004-05.

A National Audit Office report earlier this month said the finances of many local authority finances were unsustainable in the long term, with one in 10 councils providing social care responsibilities vulnerable to insolvency because of rising demand and shrinking financial resources.