Durham council tax could increase to plug £12m spending cuts

Durham County Council said it was facing "unavoidable pressures" to save money

Residents could face an increase in council tax after an authority warned it must make £12.1m in budget savings.

Durham County Council forecast a budget gap of £56m over the next four years, after it revealed in July it was overspending to fund two departments.

People are being asked to help the council identify how to save £6.2m in service areas, including their views on a council tax increase.

The council said on Wednesday it was facing "unavoidable pressures".

The authority reported in July that it was overspending to fund its children and young people's and regeneration, economy and growth departments.

Measures to save £2.2m were also agreed that month and council officers have since considered plans to save an additional £3.7m, with the £6.2m coming on top of those to make the £12.1m needed in savings.

• How much has council tax gone up?

The council is run by an alliance made up of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and independents.

Deputy leader Richard Bell said the authority was facing "unavoidable pressures" and the decisions were "never easy", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"It is increasingly challenging to balance our budgets with the funding received from the government and the income we are allowed to raise locally, which is primarily through council tax," he told a meeting.

"That makes this another year in which we have some incredibly difficult decisions to make and we have no certainty about local government funding beyond next year, which also makes it very difficult to plan ahead," Mr Bell added.

Increasing council tax by 1% is expected to raise about £2.6m in income, whereas putting council tax up by less than the maximum amount allowed would result in more reductions to services being required to balance the books.

Residents can take part in the consultation about the savings online or by completing a form in person, available from libraries and customer access points.

The council added it would propose to continue to protect the most vulnerable by extending its local council tax reduction scheme.