Two areas to see council tax rise by more than 5%

The government has given two local authorities in the South permission to raise council tax bills by more than the standard 5% from April.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) councils are two of seven granted special dispensation to go above the 5% limit without having to ask local people what they think of the idea.

Both said while they welcomed the extra funding it would bring in, their finances would remain tight.

The government said letting councils exceed the cap recognised the challenging financial circumstances they faced.

BCP Council has been told it can put residents' bills up by a maximum of 6.75% from the spring, while Windsor and Maidenhead can raise them by up to 7.5%.

Normally a council would have to hold a local referendum before it could increase bills by more than 5%.

But in recent years a number of authorities, including the Royal Borough, have been allowed to without asking residents first.

The government said the two councils did not have to raise them by as much as 7.5% and 6.75% if they chose not to.

BCP Council has forecasted it will face a £10.5m bill for the interest on borrowing needed to provide support and education to children with extra needs.

Councillor Mike Cox said: "While at face value this is good news, we must recognise that this simply closes a budget gap we were filling with reserves.

"Our finances remain tight and pressures on our frontline services continue."

At Windsor and Maidenhead the decision follows an increase of 9% last year.

The rising costs of providing services for adults needing social care and looking after vulnerable children have put the borough's budgets under pressure.

Councillor Lynne Jones previously said the borough had to raise bills dramatically because historically it had "some of the lowest council taxes in the country".

The two councils will sign off next year's council tax increases in the next few weeks.