Bigger council tax rises will not prevent more cuts to services, councils say

Chancellor relaxes cap on raising rates to part-finance planned cash injection for adult social care

Increasing council tax bills next April will hit struggling residents, fail to lift the pressure on cash-strapped local authorities and will not prevent more cuts to key services, from social care to waste collection and libraries, local government leaders have said.

Average council tax bills could rise by as much as 100, to more than 2,000 for households in band D, from April, after the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, confirmed in the autumn statement that the cap on how much local authorities could raise rates would be relaxed.