Families across the East Riding are facing a minimum £200 rise in council tax because of the government’s latest funding settlement, at a time when the cost of living remains high and inflation has risen again to 3.4 per cent.
Under the settlement, councils can only make the funding work if council tax rises by the maximum allowed amount, 4.99 per cent, year after year.
This is not a local choice. It is the consequence of how the government has designed the settlement.
Council officers say the settlement does not properly take account of inflation, relies on one-off council tax income that cannot be repeated, and comes alongside higher employment costs that make it more expensive to hire staff. Taken together, this leaves councils with little option but to push council tax up simply to keep services running.
For households across the East Riding, the impact is clear.
By the end of the settlement period:
- Families in Band D homes will be paying around £300 more a year
- Even households in the smallest Band A homes will face rises of nearly £200
- Services will be under growing pressure as costs rise faster than funding
Local MPs and East Riding of Yorkshire Council have described this as a tax bombshell, with families paying more just to stand still.
The government says the East Riding will receive an extra £30 million under the settlement. The Council says this figure only exists because residents are being forced to pay higher council tax, while the amount of direct funding coming from central government is actually falling.
By the end of the settlement period, the East Riding is set to lose £32.2 million a year in direct government support.
Graham is working with the Council and other East Yorkshire MPs to challenge the settlement, push for a fairer deal for rural areas, and make clear that families should not be forced to pay more because of decisions taken in Whitehall.
Graham said: “Families across the East Riding are being hit with a £200 tax bombshell.
“The government talks about more money and certainty, but the reality is that the settlement only works if council tax goes up by nearly five per cent every year.
“People were told there would be no new taxes on working families. Instead, households are paying more while services are squeezed.
“This is people paying more and getting less, and it is the direct result of government policy.”
