47.2% of councils saw an increase in their usable reserves last year (Image: Getty)

       Nearly half of cash-strapped councils dipped into their emergency budgets last year, according to new reports from the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA).

       47.2% of councils which published accounts for 2023-24 saw an increase in their usable reserves during the period.

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       Epping Forest saw the greatest hike at a value of ￡86 million, while Milton Keynes added ￡78.8 million to their usable reserves in 2023/4.

       The figures come as town halls are set to increase council tax to above-inflation figures as millions of Brits are facing higher bills. From April, the majority of councils are set to increase the levy by the maximum amount of 4.99%.

       Six councils set to hike taxes by higher than 4.99% without local referendum (Image: Getty)

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       Six councils, however, have been granted permission to increase council tax beyond this level without holding a local referendum due to dire financial situations.

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       The local authorities are: Bradford, 9.9%, Birmingham, 7.49%, Newham, London, 8.99%, Somerset, 7.5%, Trafford, Greater Manchester, 7.49% and Windsor and Maidenhead, 8.99%.

       Usable reserves are additional funds used for certain purposes, often raised from cancelled or postponed spending.

       Nine councils saw an increase in reserves of over a staggering ￡50 million, 12 saw an increase of between ￡20 million and ￡50 million and 30 councils saw an increase of between ￡10 and ￡20 million.

       Local authorities had an average of ￡779 in usable reserves per resident as of March 2024, however, three councils had sky-high usable reserves per resident in excess of ￡10,000.

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       These were the city of London, ￡31,414, Shetland Islands, ￡17,548, and Orkney Islands, ￡11,512.

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       Shimeon Lee, policy analyst of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Local taxpayers will rightly be concerned that some councils are filling their coffers at the expense of residents.

       “For many years, town halls have consistently increased council tax and justified the rises with claims of financial hardship. These figures reveal that a significant number of local authorities are hoarding cash while local people struggle to make ends meet.

       “Ministers must look to curb the practice of building excessive reserves while councils need to provide greater transparency for their residents and keep tax rises to a minimum.”