Norfolk County Council bosses say 'hands are tied' on council tax price hike

County Hall bosses insist their hands are tied on increasing council tax, laying blame at the feet of the government.

The Conservative-controlled council will set its budget later this month, with the mooted 4.99% council tax hike due to add between £51 and £152 a year to annual bills for people across the county.

Andrew Proctor, the leader of the authority, said: “I don’t like doing that but we have, like other upper-tier authorities, been pushed in that direction. If we didn’t what would be the alternative? Cutting services, and that’s what we want to avoid as far as possible.”

Mr Proctor said the way the government funded councils forced them to raise council tax branding it ‘completely unsustainable’.

He added: “Let’s dispel now the myth that we don’t do enough to promote Norfolk’s case for more money. We have been lobbying and continue to lobby government for fair funding.”