Millions face 5% council tax rises to fund the Tories' social care crisis

Millions of homes face eye-watering council tax rises in April as the Tories pass the buck for their failure to fund social care properly.
Research today revealed at least 28 of the biggest councils are planning to raise bills by 4.99% - the maximum possible without putting it to a vote.



That is set to pile at least £50 onto many household bills in those areas.
The list includes some of the largest city councils in England - among them Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Nottingham, Rotherham and Hull.
Rural shires taking the hit were said to include Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Dorset and South Gloucestershire.

London boroughs Lambeth, Southwark, Camden and Kingston are all said to be imposing the maximum 4.99% rise too.

The list was compiled by the Sunday Times, which said at least 41 town halls planned to raise bills by more than 4%.
More are set to emerge when other councils finalise their budgets later this month.
Theresa May gave councils permission to raise bills by 3% in 2017/18 and another 3% in 2018/19 to plug the social care funding gap, on top of the 1.99% rise already allowed.
But the GMB union branded the measure a "postcode lottery" while Labour called it a "short-term sticking plaster".
The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned there is a £2.6bn black hole that could force cuts to libraries, museums and Sure Start centres.

Claire Kober of the LGA said previously: “Only genuinely new additional government funding for social care will give councils any chance of protecting the services caring for our elderly and disabled.”
Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb warned using council tax was "unfair" because the lump sum tax hits low-income homes and badly-funded regions the hardest.
He said today: "This just reinforces the absolute need to confront this properly rather than endless sticking plaster solutions as we lurch from crisis to crisis."



Hikes of 5% or more are allowed if approved in a local referendum. So far one council, Surrey, has gone down that path with plans for a 15% rise.

The rises apply to the 'precept' (slice of total council tax) charged by unitary, county, metropolitan or London councils.

The rest of a home's total bill is made up of smaller charges from police, firefighters and district, borough or parish councils.
In Manchester, for example, the city council's precept for a Band D home is set to rise by around £51 from £1,219 in 2016/17 to £1,280 in 2017/18.
The remaining £216 of last year's Band D bill was made up of funds for the police and fire services. Police forces can also ask for a 2% rise.