Average council tax in England increases by 5.1% as adult social care costs rise
Shire counties will be paying the highest council tax in 2018-19 on average while London areas will have the lowest increase.
Wednesday 28 March 2018 11:50, UK
The average household's council tax in England will increase by 5.1% this year, the Government has announced.
For the year 2018-19, people living in a property that is in Band D - seen as the most usual band - will pay an average of £1,671 - an increase of £81 or 5.1%.
The largest increase in 14 years is partly down to rising adult social care costs.
A total of 152 of the largest authorities are allowed to increase their council tax by up to 3% just for adult social care costs, on top of any other increases they introduce.
A report by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said 148 out of those 152 are utilising some or all of that 3%.
The report said the "additional flexibility accounts for £30 of the average Band D council tax bill".
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Council tax in England is 7.6% lower in real terms than it was when we came to government and we have introduced a legal right for local taxpayers to veto excessive increases.
"Under the last Labour government council tax doubled and in Labour-run Wales it has trebled.
"It's Conservative councils across the country who are delivering high quality services while managing taxpayers money more effectively."
In London, the average Band D council tax will be £1,405 next year, an increase of £55 compared to last year, but still the lowest thanks to some of the capital's councils promising the lowest council taxes in the country.
Shire areas, mainly across the South, will be paying the highest average Band D council tax of £1,749, an increase of £86 since last year.
Other metropolitan areas outside of London will see an increase of £83 to £1,658 for the average band.
Unitary authority areas such as Bedford Borough Council, Hull City Council and Isle of Wight Council will take on the largest increase of £88, raising the average Band D tax to £1,728.