Few households avoid third year of maximum council tax hikes as plans approved

Yahoo

17-03-2025

A majority of households in England are facing a third year of maximum council tax hikes after all councils confirmed their plans.
Nearly nine in 10 (88%) of 153 upper-tier authorities in England will impose a 4.99% increase this year, the most allowed without triggering a local referendum.
If councils increasing bills by 4.5% or more in April are included in the tally, the proportion increases to more than nine in 10 (94%).
For just over two-thirds (68%) of top-tier authorities, it will be the third year in a row that bills have gone up by at least the maximum legal amount, according to analysis by the PA news agency.
By contrast, just nine councils are boosting bills by less than 4.5% this year.
Sunderland has chosen a 4.49% increase, Kensington & Chelsea in London 4.00%, Doncaster and Derby have both opted for 3.99%, while North East Lincolnshire will increase bills by 3.98%.
Council tax in Essex will rise by 3.75% and in Rotherham by 3.00%.
Lincolnshire will boost bills by 2.99% while Wandsworth in London has approved the lowest increase in England of 2.00%, representing a freeze on the main element of council tax for the third year in a row.
The council said 'sound financial management is at the heart of everything we do.'
Addressing residents on its website, the council added: Wandsworth has one of the lowest levels of debt and some of the highest financial reserves in London, allowing us to freeze the main element of councils tax and invest in what matters most.'
A vast majority of residents in England continue to face maximum council tax increases, however.
The 4.99% cap, which includes a 2% adult social care precept, has been in place over the last three years.
While 68% of upper-tier councils have raised council tax by the maximum in each of the past three years, 84% have done so in both 2025/26 and 2024/25, PA analysis shows.
Data for individual regions show that of the 24 top-tier councils in the North West, all are increasing to the limit in 2025/26 except Warrington, which has opted for 4.98%, while Trafford has been allowed by the Government to raise bills by 7.49%.
All 20 councils in the South East have approved an increase of 4.99% or more this year, including an 8.99% rise by Windsor & Maidenhead.
Essex is the only council out of 10 in the East of England not to hit the cap threshold, along with three of the 10 councils in the East Midlands: Nottinghamshire, Derby and Lincolnshire.
Coventry has confirmed a 4.90% increase, the only authority of the 14 in the West Midlands not to raise council tax to the limit or, in the case of Birmingham, higher, to the Government-approved level of 7.49%.
All but two of the 15 councils in the South West are increasing council tax by the maximum or above, with Wiltshire (4.50%) and Torbay (4.75%) the exceptions, while Somerset is raising bills by 7.49%.
Just three of the 33 London councils have opted to increase council tax by less than 4.99%, Wandsworth, Kensington & Chelsea and Barnet (4.80%), while Newham has received permission for a 8.99% increase.
Meanwhile, three of the 12 councils in the North East have set council tax below the maximum: South Tyneside and Stockton-on-Tees (both 4.95%) and Sunderland.
Five councils out of 15 in Yorkshire & Humber have set the council tax rise lower than than the limit.
Along with Rotherham, North East Lincolnshire and Doncaster, they are North Lincolnshire (4.89%) and Barnsley (4.90%).
Bradford is another council that has received permission for an increase above the threshold, in this instance, 9.99%.
The figures also show that maximum council tax increases are occurring across both the wealthiest and the poorest areas.
All of the 20 poorest council areas, according to the latest indices of deprivation compiled in 2019, are increasing council tax to the limit.
This includes three authorities, Newham, Bradford and Birmingham, who have been allowed to increase bills above 4.99% this year due to severe financial difficulties.
Similarly, only one of the 20 wealthiest council areas, Wiltshire, is not increasing council tax to the threshold.
With local government finances in crisis, the Government has provided exceptional financial assistance to 30 councils this year, including support for eight councils to balance the books in previous years.
Appearing before the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee last week, council leaders were questioned on the council tax system and its impact on finances.
Bill Revans, leader of Somerset Council which has been granted permission to raise council tax by 2.5 percentage points higher than the threshold, said the flexibility has enabled the authority to avoid issuing section 114 declaring effective bankruptcy.
But he said this approach was 'not a solution to local government finance'.
'It is, of course, welcome because we want to be able to manage our own affairs,' he added.
'But at the same time, it's incredibly difficult because ultimately our residents are having to pay more, and at a time when they are seeing less services because the services go to those people most in need of adults and children's social care.'
Critics of the council tax system claim that household charges are unfair and ineffective because they are based on property valuations carried out in 1991.
Bristol City Council leader Tony Dyer told the committee that the 'vast majority' of properties in the city were placed in the lowest bands A and B, which does not reflect current values and severely restricts council tax revenue.
'The first thing that needs to happen straight away is the revaluation of the various bands,' he said.
Mr Dyer added that, despite many residents living in homes with the lowest council tax, there are many people who are unable to pay their bills.
He said: 'We need to support these people, but that is being done, essentially, out of local authority budgets.
'In Bristol, we have a council tax reduction scheme which is costing us £43 million pounds a year with no support from the government to provide that.'
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'While councils are ultimately responsible for setting their own council tax levels, we are clear that they should put taxpayers first and carefully consider the impact of their decisions.
'That's why we are maintaining a referendum threshold on council tax rises, so taxpayers can have the final say and be protected from excessive increases.'
A spokesperson for the Local Government Association, which represents councils across England, said: 'Councils continue to face severe funding shortages and soaring cost and demand pressures on local services.
'This means that many councils have faced the tough choice about whether to increase bills to bring in desperately-needed funding to provide services at a time when they are acutely aware of the significant burden that could place on some households.
'However, while council tax is an important funding stream, the significant financial pressures facing local services cannot be met by council tax income alone. It also raises different amounts in different parts of the country – unrelated to need.
'The Spending Review needs to ensure councils have adequate funding to deliver the services local people want to see.'