Reform led Worcestershire County councils are set to issue the biggest council tax hike in England this April after the government gave them special permission to increase it by up to 9%.
Worcestershire is one of the few authorities whose requests have been allowed to raise local rates above the standard 5% limit from April.
Its cap-busting tax hike would be embarrassing for reforming the UK nationally, which has made lower council tax a political priority; This has already led to a local Reform Councillor Leaving the party In protest.
Ministers have announced that the Government will clear £5bn of historic debts accumulated by English councils who have overspent on special educational needs and disability (SP) services in recent years.
An extra £440m in so-called recovery grants for councils in economically disadvantaged areas has been unveiled in a bid to overcome criticism from northern Labor MPs that their local areas have lost out under the new funding distribution formula.
in a Common StatementLocal Government Minister Alison McGovern said the fiscal settlement showed the government was delivering improvements that would make councils “agents of regeneration in building a new, better country”.
The following councils have been given permission to set cap-busting rate increases from April: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (up to 6.75%); Warrington (7.5%); Trafford (7.5%); Worcestershire (9%); Shropshire (9%); North Somerset (9%); and Windsor and Maidenhead (7.5%).
Each of these areas has historically low council tax rates and increases above the cap would bring household bills down to average council tax levels, the government said.
Ministers say they will spend around £5bn to clear 90% of each local authority’s accumulated debt by this April. Council leaders say these debts will be pushed through without intervention 90% of councils are effectively bankrupt By 2028
The loan waivers are conditional on local authorities agreeing to implement the updates in line with government plans expected to be outlined in the forthcoming White Paper.
While councils have welcomed the move, many high-spending authorities such as Hampshire County Council will still be left with debts of tens of millions of pounds. The total remitted debt raised by English councils in April was estimated at £6bn.
It is unclear how the billions of pounds of SEND overspends spent between April 2026 and April 2028 will be managed. Ministers said they would “continue to take an appropriate and proportionate approach, although it may not be unlimited”.
Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association, which represents councils across the country Englandsaid the partial write-off of remitted debts removed the immediate threat of bankruptcy for many councils.
She said: “These costs are not related to the preparation of councils and have increased due to a broken system that urgently needs reform. However, it is critical to fully eliminate the historic and future high needs deficit.”
Worcestershire’s reform leadership has admitted its finances are “in a mess”. It has applied to the government for permission to borrow £71m since April in an attempt to avoid an effective bankruptcy, along with a huge council tax rise. It blamed previous Tory management for the crisis.
Efforts to lower than expected 3.89% council tax rise by Reform-led Warwickshire County Council Failed last week After opposition parties said it would lead to further cuts to services, they could be kept Viability of Council in danger
Sir Stephen Houghton, chair of the Municipal Authorities Special Interest Group, welcomed the uprated recovery grants: “We strongly welcome the targeting of extra money to areas of significant deprivation and need.”
