North Northamptonshire Council proposes maximum 4.99% council tax rise

North Northamptonshire Council will present its budget of £375m on 8 February

A local authority is planning to raise council tax by the maximum amount permitted, to cover rising costs of inflation and social care.

North Northamptonshire Council is proposing a rise of 4.99%, which is an extra £82.71 per year for band D.

Council leader Jason Smithers said two fifths of that increase would help fund adult social care, but "falls well short of what is needed".

The Department for Levelling Up said it was giving extra support to councils.

Conservative Jason Smithers said pressures on adult social care services had been "felt particularly acutely" in North Northamptonshire.

"We are absolutely doing the right thing to invest more into this area to address the increase in demand," he added.

The council said more than half of local properties fell into council tax bands A and B, which would see a rise of £1.06 and £1.24 per week respectively.

In January, it also introduced spending controls to make sure it stays within its budget.

Council leader Jason Smithers is urging central government for more funding to pay for social care

The council will present a proposed final budget of £375.3m on 8 February, after adding an extra £4.1m since December to "meet growth in demand" for adult social care services.

It said that demand would partly be funded by a new government grant, with the rest covered by reserves.

Mr Smithers said the grant was "welcome", but added that "further funding is still required and we will continue to push government for this and a longer-term settlement".

North Northamptonshire Council said its £375m budget would "provide a range of services" including education, waste disposal, highways maintenance and housing support.

The council is also planning to spend £170m over four years on capital projects such as schools, disabled facilities and electric vehicle infrastructure.

Mr Smithers said: "I'm pleased that despite the uncertain times we're living in, we've been able to develop proposals that aim to benefit our residents while at the same time are affordable."

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: "We recognise councils are facing challenges and that is why we recently announced an additional £600m support package for councils across England, increasing their overall proposed funding for next year to £64.7bn - a 7.5% increase in cash terms."