Council tax to soar by 5% for three years, Reeves reveals - as average home's council tax bill will increase by £359 by 2029
The average home's council tax bill will increase by £359 by 2029, the Spending Review revealed.
Ministers are working on the basis that councils will increase the rate by 5 per cent a year for the next three years.
The rise will fund the settlement for local authorities, which includes social care – an issue on which Labour is yet to outline its policy.
It also assumes that the police precept – the portion of council tax that goes directly to forces – will have to rise.
Asked about the increase, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'The previous government increased council tax by 5 per cent a year, and we have stuck to that.
'We won't be going above that. That is the council tax policy that we inherited from the previous government, and that we will be continuing.
'Of course, that money goes into those local public services, including social care, and in case of the police precept, it goes into our local policing.'
Figures show that council tax for the average Band D home will increase by £359 over the next three years.
Kevin Hollinrake, Tory communities spokesman, said: 'Rachel Reeves claimed council tax wouldn't have to go up to afford her spending spree, but this tax bombshell shows that you can't trust a word she says.
'Because of Labour's profligate spending plans today, tax and borrowing increases in the autumn are now inevitable.
'This tax double-whammy is just rubbing salt in the wounds, and means hundreds of pounds less in take-home pay for hard-working people.'
Despite the increase, local government representatives said there would still not be enough cash to fund services and warned of further cuts.
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