HOUSEHOLDERS in Cumbria face higher council tax bills after the county council proposed an increase of nearly four per cent.

Cumbria County Council has revealed plans to increase council tax by 1.99 per cent with a further two per cent hike to secure funding for adult social care.

Should the increase be approved, it would mean a council tax bill of £1,281.02 for a Band D property in 2017/18. This would be a near-£50 increase on current bills.

Cllr Stewart Young, leader of CCC, said: “Without doubt this year has seen unprecedented change and turbulence at a national level with Britain voting for Brexit, a new Prime Minister, a new national cabinet and new leadership across all major political parties.

"Add to that the devastating impact and cost of the Cumbria Floods, including the impact of Storm Desmond, and I am sure you will agree that this has made the job of delivering public services and balancing the council’s books even harder.

“Since austerity began in 2011 we have achieved savings of £198million and we predict that by 2020 this will have increased to £246million.

“This year we have focused on delivering the savings we need for 2017/18, beyond that there is a great deal of uncertainty.

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“What we do know is that these are difficult financial times for us and for the public. As such we now need the public’s views on whether or not to increase council tax.

"The choice is between doing this or having to find even more savings from our services."

Alex Wild, research director of the Taxpayer's Alliance, suggested there are still savings that could be made before giving the bill to taxpayers.

"While local authorities across the country are playing poverty and increasing council tax, residents should remember the huge increases of the 2000s," he said. "The average bill has increased by almost 60 per cent in real terms in the last 20 years, so while the living wage has increased costs for councils, residents must be wondering where all their money has gone. There are still big savings to be made in local government and wasteful spending needs to be eliminated first."

The consultation document is available at cumbria.gov.uk/budgetconsultation and will run until January 20. The cabinet will consider the budget proposal in February and make recommendations to council.