UK Edition
Tory-led Surrey County Council announce referendum on 15 per cent council tax hike
A Tory-controlled council is set to hold a referendum on raising council tax by 15 per cent, after blaming the Government for the looming crisis facing social care.
Surrey County Council said it had a "huge gap" in its budget following successive years of cuts to local government funding by ministers.
The council, which includes the constituencies of both the Chancellor Philip Hammond and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, will need the approval of local voters to bring in the new council tax rate.
Such a hike would increase average tax on a Band D property by almost £200, bringing the bill to about £1,500.
The leader of the council told Theresa May to stop spending money on foreign aid and instead fund elderly care.
Conservative David Hodge blamed the Government for the looming crisis facing social care, saying it has to put up taxes. He urged the Government to stop spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on foreign aid.
"We have to ask if money spent on overseas aid is best use of money" he told Channel 4 News.
“Someone should stand up and tell the truth for once and for all.”
Earlier in the day he said: "We have to set a budget that will protect vital services for Surrey residents.
"Government has cut our annual grant by £170 million since 2010 - leaving a huge gap in our budget.
"Demand for adult social care, learning disabilities and children's services is increasing every year.
"So I regret, despite us finding £450 million worth of savings from our annual budget, we have no choice but to propose this increase in council tax."
Local authorities are required to hold a referendum if they want to increase council tax beyond a Whitehall-imposed threshold of 2 per cent. Surrey's proposed referendum would take place on May 4, alongside the local elections.
Politicians have been given repeated warnings that the country is facing a looming care crisis, as rising numbers of nursing homes close down in the face of shortages in staff and funding.
The Local Government Association (LGS) says councils across Britain will receive £2.2 billion less to run local services in 2017/18 than last year.
Claire Kober, chairwoman of the Local Government Association's resources board, said: "After years of striving to keep council tax as low as possible or frozen, many town halls have found themselves having to ask residents to pay more council tax over the next few years, particularly to try and offset some of the spiralling costs of social care.
"Services supporting the elderly and disabled are at breaking point. It cannot be left to council taxpayers alone to try and fix them."
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "If the council sets this proposed budget, then the taxpayers of Surrey will have the final say in a referendum in May. We should trust the people.
"Our long-term funding settlement means more spending power for Surrey County Council during this parliament, with £3.2 billion to deliver the services that local people want.
"This Government has also announced almost £900 million of additional funding to tackle pressures on social care over the next two years. But money alone is not the solution.
"We are clear that we need to find a long-term sustainable solution, including making sure all councils learn from the best performers to raise standards across the whole system."
John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Surrey County Council should hang their heads in shame.
"Surrey residents will have seen their council tax go up by around 85 per cent in the last two decades and have every right to feel that their local representatives have let them down once again."