COUNCIL Tax bills look set to rise 3.99 per cent again next year – for the third year in a row.

Cumbria County Council is planning a £35-a-year hike for a Band A property, and £53-a-year increase for the average Band D home owner.

District councils such as Barrow and South Lakeland have not yet set their budgets, nor has the Police and Crime Commissioner or town and parish councils.

If they decide to increase their share from council tax bills residents will be stung in the pocket again during 2019-20.

For every £1 paid in council tax, approximately 74p goes to the county council, 13p to the police and crime commissioner, 11p to district councils and 2p to local town and parish councils.

The county council proposal is subject to a public consultation before the final amounts are laid before a committee in February next year.

The hike would comprise a 1.99 per cent rise for the county council plus two per cent towards the spiralling costs of adult social care services for a total increase of 3.99 per cent.

The council pointed out it would amount to Band A homeowners paying an extra 68p a week and Band D home owners paying £1.02 more a week for the county council.

Council chief executive Katherine Fairclough has said that the council needs to save £49 million between 2019 and 2022. This includes £22.7 million alone in 2019-20.

It would mean that since 20011 when a new Government took charge, the council has saved £298 million.

Those cuts were described as “severe” in a report to go before the council cabinet sitting in Carlisle on Thursday.

The report read: “Without exception, all councils are facing difficult financial times given reductions in funding, increasing demand and rising costs. As well as funding reductions from Government, we also have an unprecedented level of demand on our services.

“This includes greater pressure for social care services from our growing elderly population and increased costs to look after the number of children now in our care.

“These ever-increasing pressures mean that going forward, it is no longer just about efficiency, it is also about managing demand.”

“Although the Chancellor stated in his Autumn Budget 2018 that the era of austerity is coming to an end, the impact of Brexit on the economy, and wider social and world events all increase potential financial and economic risks.”

The council is making the case to government for more funding and has warned that without it, the authority could be cut back to only providing “essential services”.