Nine in 10 areas facing maximum council tax rise in England (Image: Getty)

       Nine in 10 areas are facing the maximum council tax rise in England, an analysis has suggested.

       The majority of councils have indicated they will apply a maximum council tax increase of at least 4.99% this year.

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       Figures for the 139 top-tier authorities in England that have proposed or confirmed increases so far show 85% are planning a rise just short of 5% – the threshold that would trigger a local referendum in normal circumstances.

       When the six councils in acute financial stress that were granted permission to increase council tax beyond this level without a local vote are included, the proportion increases to nearly 90%.

       Four bankrupt authorities - Birmingham, Woking, Slough and Thurrock – have special dispensation to raise council tax by 10%.

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       Of the councils which have disclosed plans, 122 are proposals awaiting approval from full council and 17 have been confirmed, leaving 14 yet to declare their intentions

       Just 15 councils are planning increases below 4.99%, with levels ranging from 4.98% in Barnet, north London, and Warrington, Cheshire, to 2% in Wandsworth, south London.

       Wandsworth’s increase represents the third year in a row that council tax has been frozen in the borough, which is said to have the lowest council tax in the country.

       Council leader Simon Hogg said: “Sound financial management is at the heart of everything we do.

       “Wandsworth has one of the lowest levels of debt and some of the highest financial reserves in London, allowing us to freeze the main element of council tax and invest in what matters most to you – cleaner streets, safer neighbourhoods and a stronger community.”

       UK councils are struggling because of a significant funding gap caused by rising costs from inflation and wage pressures, coupled with increasing demand for services like social care, homelessness support and special educational needs.

       English councils face a ￡2.3 billion funding gap in 2025/26, rising to ￡3.9 billion in 2026/27, the Local Government Association’s analysis from September showed.

       This is a ￡6.2 billion shortfall across the two years.

       It comes as the Resolution Foundation said the poorest fifth of households across the UK paid 4.8% of their income on council tax in 2020-21, up from 2.9% in 2002-3.

       The think tank identified that this share of income was three times more than the 1.5% spent by the richest fifth.

       The council tax system has been described as flawed by experts, particularly as council tax rates in England and Scotland are based on the value of properties in 1991.

       Lalitha Try, an economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “This terribly designed tax increasingly resembles the very thing it was meant to replace – the dreaded poll tax.”

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       Here is a list of the latest proposed and confirmed council tax rises for 2025/26 by top-tier local authorities in England.

       The data covers only the 153 top-tier local authorities in England: County councils, London boroughs, Metropolitan boroughs and unitary authorities. It does not include lower-tier district councils.

       Some 14 top-tier authorities have yet to make public a proposed or confirmed figure.

       – County councils

       Cambridgeshire (Eastern England): 4.99% confirmed

       Derbyshire (East Midlands): 4.99% confirmed

       Devon (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       East Sussex (SE England): 4.99% confirmed

       Essex (Eastern England): 3.75% confirmed

       Gloucestershire (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Hampshire (SE England): 4.995% confirmed

       Hertfordshire (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       Kent (SE England): 4.99% confirmed

       Lancashire (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Leicestershire (East Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Lincolnshire (East Midlands): 2.99% proposed

       Norfolk (Eastern England): 4.99% proposed

       Nottinghamshire (East Midlands): 4.84% proposed

       Oxfordshire (SE England): 4.99% confirmed

       Staffordshire (West Midlands): 4.99% confirmed

       Suffolk (Eastern England): 4.99% confirmed

       Surrey (SE England): 4.99% confirmed

       Warwickshire (West Midlands): 4.99% confirmed

       West Sussex (SE England): 4.99% confirmed

       Worcestershire (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       – London

       Barking & Dagenham: 4.99% proposed

       Barnet: 4.98% proposed

       Bexley: tbc

       Brent: 4.99% proposed

       Bromley: tbc

       Camden: tbc

       City of London: tbc

       Croydon: 4.99% proposed

       Ealing: 4.99% proposed

       Enfield: 4.99% proposed

       Greenwich: 4.99% proposed

       Hackney: tbc

       Hammersmith & Fulham: 4.99% proposed

       Haringey: 4.99% proposed

       Harrow: 4.99% proposed

       Havering: 4.99% proposed

       Hillingdon: 4.99% proposed

       Hounslow: 4.99% proposed

       Islington: 4.99% proposed

       Kensington & Chelsea: 4.00% proposed

       Kingston-upon-Thames: 4.99% proposed

       Lambeth: 4.99% proposed

       Lewisham: 4.99% proposed

       Merton: 4.99% proposed

       Newham: 8.99% proposed

       Redbridge: tbc

       Richmond-upon-Thames: 4.99% proposed

       Southwark: 4.99% proposed

       Sutton: 4.99% proposed

       Tower Hamlets: 4.99% proposed

       Waltham Forest: 4.99% proposed

       Wandsworth: 2.00% proposed

       Westminster: 4.99% proposed

       – Metropolitan boroughs

       Barnsley (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.90% proposed

       Birmingham (West Midlands): 7.49% proposed

       Bolton (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Bradford (Yorkshire/Humber): 9.99% proposed

       Bury (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Calderdale (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% proposed

       Coventry (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Doncaster (Yorkshire/Humber): 3.99% proposed

       Dudley (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Gateshead (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       Kirklees (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% proposed

       Knowsley (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Leeds (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% proposed

       Liverpool (NW England): tbc

       Manchester (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Newcastle-upon-Tyne (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       North Tyneside (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       Oldham (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Rochdale (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Rotherham (Yorkshire/Humber): 3.00% proposed

       Salford (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Sandwell (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Sefton (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Sheffield (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% proposed

       Solihull (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       South Tyneside (NE England): 4.95% proposed

       St Helens (NW England): tbc

       Stockport (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Sunderland (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       Tameside (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Trafford (NW England): 7.49% proposed

       Wakefield (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% proposed

       Walsall (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Wigan (NW England): tbc

       Wirral (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Wolverhampton (West Midlands): tbc

       – Unitary authorities

       Bath & North East Somerset (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Bedford (Eastern England): 4.99% confirmed

       Blackburn with Darwen (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Blackpool (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Bracknell Forest (SE England): tbc

       Brighton & Hove (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       Bristol (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Buckinghamshire (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       Central Bedfordshire (Eastern England): 4.99% proposed

       Cheshire East (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Cheshire West and Chester (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Cornwall (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Cumberland (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Darlington (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       Derby (East Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Dorset (SW England): 4.99% confirmed

       Durham (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       East Riding of Yorkshire (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% confirmed

       Halton (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Hartlepool (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       Herefordshire (West Midlands): 4.99% confirmed

       Hull (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% proposed

       Isle of Wight (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       Isles of Scilly (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Leicester (East Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Luton (Eastern England): 4.99% proposed

       Medway (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       Middlesbrough (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       Milton Keynes (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       North East Lincolnshire (Yorkshire/Humber): 3.98% proposed

       North Lincolnshire (Yorkshire/Humber): tbc

       North Northamptonshire (East Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       North Somerset (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       North Yorkshire (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% confirmed

       Northumberland (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       Nottingham (East Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Peterborough (Eastern England): 4.99% proposed

       Plymouth (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Portsmouth (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       Reading (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       Redcar & Cleveland (NE England): 4.99% proposed

       Rutland (East Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Shropshire (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Slough (SE England): tbc

       Somerset (SW England): 7.50% proposed

       South Gloucestershire (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Southampton (SE England): tbc

       Southend-on-Sea (Eastern England): 4.99% proposed

       Stockton-on-Tees (NE England): 4.95% proposed

       Stoke-on-Trent (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Swindon (SW England): 4.99% proposed

       Telford & Wrekin (West Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Thurrock (Eastern England): 4.99% proposed

       Torbay (SW England): 4.75% proposed

       Warrington (NW England): 4.98% proposed

       West Berkshire (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       West Northamptonshire (East Midlands): 4.99% proposed

       Westmorland & Furness (NW England): 4.99% proposed

       Wiltshire (SW England): 4.50% proposed

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       Wokingham (SE England): 4.99% proposed

       York (Yorkshire/Humber): 4.99% proposed