Local authority granted 9% council tax increase

A local authority has been granted permission to increase council tax by up to 9%.

North Somerset Council is one of seven local councils the government is allowing to go above the usual 5% limit under the Extraordinary Financial Support scheme.

Council leader Mike Bell said: "None of us wants to raise council tax beyond the usual limits, but our financial position has worsened and demand and cost pressures have increased every year since 2010."

Somerset Council had also asked for an 11% rise, but the government refused and said it must stay at 5%. Both councils said they need government support because demand for social care is rising.

Somerset Council leader Bill Revans said: "We have a difficult situation to manage - our council tax is significantly lower than the national average."

He added: "We do really want to protect those services that we know our residents value."

In England, local authorities hoping to increase council tax by more than 4.99% require approval via a public vote.

Some councils facing severe financial pressure may be allowed higher, exceptional increases.

North Somerset Council said it has to make major cuts every time it sets its budget, which has a big impact on funding for supporting vulnerable people.

Last year, it took £9.1m out of its reserves to balance its budget for 2025/26 but it still had to make major cuts.

In December, Bell said: "We have got to use all the tools that are available to us and that includes asking local people to pay more."

A 9% (8.99%) council tax rise from April would add £13.44 onto the monthly council tax bill for an average band D property.

But, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the hike is still not enough on its own to allow the council to set a balanced budget for 2026/27. The council had applied to increase tax by 10%.

It will still need to find another £2.4m of cuts that it can make in the budget, which is due to be voted on by the full council on 24 February.

Meanwhile, Somerset Conservatives have welcomed the government's decision to block the county council's request for a 11% hike, preventing a potential annual increase of more than £200 for many households.

The decision follows pressure from a local campaign backed by more than 3,600 residents and Bridgwater MP Ashley Fox MP.

Councillor Diogo Rodrigues, leader of the Somerset Council Conservatives, said the outcome would come as a relief to hard working families, pensioners and residents already facing rising household costs.

With just over two weeks before North Somerset council set its budget — it can now decide how this increase could affect its new plan.

Aa a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, it will be able to finalise budget plans for the 2026/27 financial year and recommend a balanced budget to the council.

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