Millions face higher than usual council tax hikes amid bid to stabilise services

Millions of households are facing a assembly taxation hike beyond mean thresholds this year, arsenic Angela Rayner warned of further “tough decisions” to “rebuild and stabilise” section government.

The Deputy Prime Minister said challenges stay successful the Government’s bid “to hole the breached strategy we inherited”, and stressed the request to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt preventing councils experiencing “further fiscal distress” and the “interests of taxpayers”.

Six councils, serving much than 2 cardinal radical successful total, person been granted support to summation assembly taxation beyond the established yearly threshold of 5%.

The remaining councils – Birmingham, Somerset and Trafford – person been granted a further 2.5% uplift beyond the threshold.

Explaining the determination successful a written statement, Ms Rayner said: “These are hard decisions that Government has not taken lightly. We recognise the value of constricted increases successful helping to forestall these councils falling further into fiscal distress – but we person been wide this indispensable beryllium balanced with the interests of taxpayers.

“We person agreed to a constricted fig of requests and successful each cases person not agreed to the afloat magnitude requested. Where we person agreed, it is lone for councils with amongst the lowest levels of assembly tax, and wherever we expect, adjacent aft these increases, residents volition inactive beryllium paying little than the mean compared with akin councils.”

Ms Rayner confirmed that successful spite of these increases, the wide nationalist summation successful assembly taxation is not expected to transcend past year’s emergence of 5.1%.

The connection confirmed that councils volition person entree to much than £69 cardinal successful backing this twelvemonth – a 6.8% summation successful currency presumption compared to 2024-25.

The colony provides much than £2 cardinal successful nonstop assistance backing supra gross received from assembly tax, with nary assembly experiencing a simplification successful halfway spending power.

The Government antecedently announced £233 cardinal for homelessness services and £500 cardinal for pothole repairs.

A “Recovery Grant” has been established worthy £600 cardinal arsenic an interim measure.

Ms Rayner confirmed that £60 cardinal has been enactment speech for “long-term improvements”, including facilitating further a “devolution revolution” and fixing the strategy of section authorities audit which has been plagued by delays successful caller years.

In addition, the Government is providing up to £3.7 cardinal further backing to councils with societal attraction responsibilities, including a £880 cardinal boost to the Social Care Grant.

A caller Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant volition beryllium accrued to £270 cardinal successful 2025 and 2026. It volition beryllium allocated according to “estimated need” and volition spot concern successful prevention for children treble much than £500 million.

Overall, the Government said it is providing much than £10 cardinal for societal care.

Ms Rayner besides confirmed allocations worthy £502 cardinal to assistance councils to negociate the interaction of increases to leader nationalist security contributions.

The Deputy Prime Minister added: “Councils present captious services crossed the state – driving maturation and section economies and providing a lifeline for those that request it most.

“Through our Plan for Change we are determined to hole the foundations of section government; investing wherever it is needed, trusting section leaders and moving unneurotic to present growth, amended wellness and societal attraction services and the affordable homes radical need.”

The County Councils Network (CCN) said the £600 cardinal betterment money volition beryllium heavy targeted astatine councils successful large cities and towns astatine the disbursal of region areas.

It added the interaction of this volition beryllium compounded by the summation successful the nationalist surviving wage and nationalist security changes, with dedicated further backing successful the colony outweighed by the caller burdens faced by its members.

Barry Lewis, CCN concern spokesperson, said: “Consequently, much than 4 successful 5 CCN members accidental they are successful a worse presumption than earlier the Autumn Budget and this concern settlement, and 1 3rd accidental their work reductions adjacent twelvemonth volition present beryllium severe.

“Considering determination is precise small abdominous near to chopped from galore of these services already, a further simplification volition person a worldly interaction connected our residents.”

London Councils, which represents each 32 London boroughs, said its members inactive look a corporate £500 cardinal backing spread successful the coming twelvemonth contempt receiving a 5.7% summation successful their halfway spending power.

The organisation said its investigation showed 7 councils successful London volition necessitate exceptional fiscal enactment from the Government to equilibrium the books this year, compared to conscionable 2 councils successful 2024-25.

This script would necessitate the magnitude of enactment backing for struggling councils successful the superior to summation from £70 cardinal successful 2024-25 to £430 cardinal successful 2025-26.

Claire Holland, seat of London Councils, said: “The interaction of homelessness connected Londoners – particularly families with children – is devastating, and the costs to boroughs are utterly unsustainable.

“With much and much boroughs forced to crook to the Government for exceptional fiscal enactment simply to enactment afloat, it is wide that determination is simply a agelong mode to spell to extremity the situation successful section authorities finance.”