Tax hike will challenge public - council leader

The leader of a council preparing to put up council tax by almost 9% has said she knows it will be "very difficult" for a lot of people.

Shropshire Council is expecting to receive less money from the government in the next three years and Heather Kidd said she was "really sad that the government thinks you can shift all this funding on to residents".

"I can remember not being able to pay the Poll Tax when it came in and the pain that caused," she said.

The government has been approached for comment.

Earlier this month, Shropshire Council was one of seven local authorities given special permission by the government to increase council tax by more than the usual maximum of 4.99%

A rise of 8.99% could be agreed when councillors meet next Thursday, meaning a band D equivalent property would pay £1,969.09 a year.

On top of that, residents would have to pay increased contributions to the police, fire service and to town and parish councils.

Kidd said increasing tax was not something she wanted to do.

"This is not something we're doing because we think every resident can afford to do it and everybody's wealthy," she said.

The Liberal Democrat saw her party take control of the council last May, when they ousted the previous Conservative administration.

Under the government's latest funding proposals, she said it appeared rural counties like hers would get 17% less than urban areas and suggested: "Maybe they're shoring up their red wall in the north."

"Whether its the politics or not it seems likely, because there's a huge shift away from rural areas and not just us," she said.

Kidd said her council would be "bending over backwards" to help those people who were not able to pay.

But she asked: "When you are living in an area with fuel poverty, with low wages, why do we pay 17% more?"

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