One in three councils to raise taxes

The survey of town halls offers fresh evidence that the Goverment’s efforts to persuade council leaders to freeze their bills are increasingly falling on deaf ears.

Since coming to power, the coalition has repeatedly rewarded councils who freeze their bills with cash equivalent to a one per cent rise.

But this year seven Yorkshire authorities decided to refuse the money, known widely as the ‘freeze grant’, up from two the previous year.

And with authorities in the region lining up in recent weeks to warn of another year of multi-million pound cuts to budgets it is widely expected more of the region’s council leaders will follow suit in 2014.

All eyes are on Conservative-run councils to see if they will break ranks.

Shadow Local Government Secretary Hilary Benn, the Leeds Central MP, said: “David Cameron promised to freeze council taxes for everyone, but even his own Tory-controlled councils are showing that he’s failed.

“As a result of his unfair and disproportionate cuts to local authorities, councils are struggling to fund services such as help for our elderly, libraries and children’s social care.

“In April, David Cameron also cut the funding given to councils to keep council tax down for the least well-off, effectively imposing a new poll tax on the disabled, carers, veterans and war widows and many people who work hard but are on a low income. At the same time he has given a tax cut to those on the very highest incomes.”

Both Leeds and Sheffield City Councils were among those who accepted the freeze grant this year but will face a tough choice again in 2014 having warned of the need to make fresh savings of £36m and £37m respectively in the next financial year.

Conservative-run North Yorkshire County Council has warned it needs to make £77m of savings in the four years from 2015.

Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Wakefield, Hull, Richmondshire and York raised their taxes this year.

With no imminent end in sight to the cuts to Government funding, council leaders in the region are increasingly concerned about the long term impact on their budgets of accepting the Government money because it is a grant rather than a permanent addition to their base budgets.

Councils that decide to raise taxes will be limited by Government rules to a two per cent increase or trigger a referendum.

Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis said he would “encourage every council” to take up the latest offer of funding, which would be paid to councils over the next two financial years.

He said: “Over the last three years, the government has worked with councils to cut council tax by 10 per cent in real terms.

“Extra funding is on the table for councils to freeze council tax for another two years.

“There is a clear choice for councillors: extra help for hard-working people with the cost of living, or higher state taxation to fund more council administration.”

Earlier this year, Chancellor George Osborne told councils they would face further cuts in their Government funding in the 2015-16 financial year.

Councils have suggested the cut could be as high as 15 per cent but the Government hotly disputes that figure and puts the reduction at 2.3 per cent.

Yorkshire councils say that on current Government spending plans they will have had to make cuts of more than £1bn by 2016.

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