The vast majority of councils in England are set to increase council tax by the maximum amount this year, new data shows.
Figures for the 139 top-tier authorities in England show 90% are planning a rise of at least 4.99%. (Anything higher than 5% would require either a local referendum or approval from central government.)
Out of all the councils that have disclosed their intention to increase the tax, 17 have been confirmed, while 122 are awaiting approval from full council. However, it is unlikely that a council tax rise proposed by senior councillors will be rejected by full council at this stage of the budget process.
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Only 15 councils are planning increases below 4.99%, with levels ranging from 4.98% in Barnet, north London, and Warrington, Cheshire, to 2% in Wandsworth, south London.
The highest increases come in Bradford, where there will be a 9.9% increase, while Newham in London has been granted permission by the government to increase their council tax by 8.99%.
Other areas with high tax rises are Windsor and Maidenhead, who are increasing theirs by 8.99%, while Somerset has proposed a 7.5% increase and Trafford and Birmingham have both proposed a 7.49% rise.
In the East Midlands eight of the region’s 10 councils have opted for the maximum rise, while nine out of 10 have hit this threshold in eastern England.
Meanwhile, only two councils in the north east – South Tyneside and Stockton-on-Tees – plan increases below 4.99%, both opting for 4.95%.
In the south west, Torbay (4.75%) and Wiltshire (4.50%) are the only authorities opting for increases below 4.99%, while in London, 23 of the 27 councils that have declared their intention opted for a 4.99% rise.
Among councils in the north west, 19 of the 21 that have confirmed plans decided on a 4.99% rise. In the south east, 16 of the 20 councils are planning a 4.99% increase.
All 13 upper-tier councils in the West Midlands, apart from Birmingham, have disclosed their plans opted for a 4.99% increase.
‘Terribly designed tax’
The increase in council tax comes as households have been warned of months of pain as the Bank of England forecast higher-than-expected inflation this summer due to rising bills.
The Bank’s warning that inflation will hit a peak of 3.7% later in the summer follows a multitude of predicted hikes to household expenses, including energy bills, food, mortgages and even bus fares.
Inflation is set to only fall back to the Bank’s 2% target in the final quarter of 2027, it said, about six months later than previously thought.
It follows analysts Cornwall Insight revising up its previous forecast of a further 1% increase to the energy price cap in April, now suggesting households will face an almost 5% hike to the current average yearly bill of £1,738 that came into effect on January 1.
In addition, new analysis this week found that the poorest households are paying an increasing proportion of their income on council tax.
The Resolution Foundation thinktank said the poorest fifth of households across the UK paid 4.8% of their income on council tax in 2020-21 – up from 2.9% in 2002-3.
It identified that this share of income was three times more than the 1.5% spent by the richest fifth.
The council tax system has been described as flawed by experts, particularly as council tax rates in England and Scotland are based on the value of properties in 1991.
Lalitha Try, an economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “This terribly designed tax increasingly resembles the very thing it was meant to replace – the dreaded poll tax.”
