CUMBRIA County Council wants a council tax rise of nearly four per cent as it continues to grapple with stinging cuts from central Government.

Senior councillors are also warning that more increases in its share of households’ tax bill will follow if the Government continues to cut grants.

The rise of 3.99 per cent for 2016/17 has been recommended by the county ruling council’s cabinet as it looks to slash £76m from its budget over the next three years.

This year’s budget, which now needs to be agreed by the full council, has identified more than £45m of savings.

A council tax rise of 1.99 per cent is being implemented to generate extra cash, with the other two per cent being added on through special permission from the Government to pump money specifically into the council’s adult social care services.

It’s a move Patricia Bell, the cabinet member responsible for finance, says is being “forced” upon the council because central Government is taking away their funding.

In the Comprehensive Spending Review last October Chancellor George Osborne said he would allow local authorities to add an adult social care precept of two per cent onto council tax to give them more “flexibility”.

“This does not give us more flexibility as they put it,” said Mrs Bell, who’s also the authority’s deputy leader. “Actually there’s no flexibility at all. They are forcing local people to pay for local services. This year our budget consultation has been about strategies for the future and how we can deliver our statutory services in a drastically different way within the budgets available. A process within which there have been no easy decisions.”

Speaking after yesterday’s cabinet meeting in Carlisle, she said people in Cumbria can expect more council tax rises in the future.

“It’s not because we are choosing to do it, the Government is forcing us into it,” she added.

Diane Wood, the county council’s chief executive, said despite working in local government for many years she had “never seen a budget challenge like this”.

Referring to the Government’s decision to slash adult social care budgets and to allow local authorities to raise council tax, county council leader Stewart Young said: “The Government has decided to do it this way to pass the burden from central Government to local Government so they can say they haven’t raised tax – but they have through the back door.”

It means residents in Carlisle can expect a hefty rise in tax next year, as the city council earlier this week waved through plans for a 1.95 per cent increase.

The city council rise comes after the authority revealed it needed to make savings of more than £3.45m over the next five years, with £1.2m needing to be found this financial year. 

As well as raising council tax, the city council are looking to manage their budget by slashing the grant made to Carlisle’s Tullie House Museum by £214,000, while community centres will have to deal with their funding being cut by £94,000.

However, a number of council operations will remain unaffected, including freezing car park charges for the fifth year running and maintaining the council tax reduction scheme for low income households.

Councillors will still be able to offer grants totalling £1,000 to community projects in their ward.

Addressing Tuesday night’s meeting, council leader Colin Glover said: “We are having to make substantial savings and while funding for the future remains uncertain, we will continue to work with out partners to deliver our priorities for the city.

“We remain committed to improving the local environment, addressing housing needs, developing new leisure facilities and supporting business growth and skills development, all important for a confident future for the people of Carlisle.”