North East leaders have spoken out against the “unthinkable” prospect of hiking council tax bills by five per cent next year.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his Autumn Statement that he would be increasing the maximum amount by which local authorities can raise council tax without needing to hold a local referendum, up from the current three per cent. The Treasury is said to have estimated that the vast majority of councils will increase their bills by the maximum level in order to plug gaps in their finances, but the move has sparked major concerns about deepening the money woes felt by households across the North East during a devastating cost of living crisis.
In an open letter to Mr Hunt this week, Newcastle City Council leader Nick Kemp warned that many people would be forced into deeper hardship by a five per cent hike – and condemned an “inherent unfairness” that means richer areas will generate more money through the rise, but their residents are less in need of council-funded social services.
