Council Tax: South West local authorities all confirm their plans
A majority of households in England are facing a third year of maximum council tax hikes
Up and down the South West - we now know the reality of what the hike in our council tax bills will look like.
It comes as across the country, the vast majority are facing a third year of maximum council tax hikes after all councils confirmed their plans.
Nearly nine in 10 (88%) of 153 upper-tier authorities in England will impose a 4.99% increase this year, the most allowed without triggering a local referendum.
If councils increasing bills by 4.5% or more in April are included in the tally, the proportion increases to more than nine in 10 (94%).
For just over two-thirds (68%) of top-tier authorities, it will be the third year in a row that bills have gone up by at least the maximum legal amount, according to analysis by the PA news agency.
By contrast, just nine councils are boosting bills by less than 4.5% this year.
The 4.99% cap, which includes a 2% adult social care precept, has been in place over the last three years.
While 68% of upper-tier councils have raised council tax by the maximum in each of the past three years, 84% have done so in both 2025/26 and 2024/25, PA analysis shows.
All but two of the 15 councils in the South West are increasing council tax by the maximum or above, with Wiltshire (4.50%) and Torbay (4.75%) the exceptions, while Somerset is raising bills by 7.49%.
Read more: Somerset council tax set to rise by 7.5% as local authority approves budget
The figures also show that maximum council tax increases are occurring across both the wealthiest and the poorest areas.
All of the 20 poorest council areas, according to the latest indices of deprivation compiled in 2019, are increasing council tax to the limit.
Only one of the 20 wealthiest council areas, Wiltshire, is not increasing council tax to the threshold.
With local government finances in crisis, the Government has provided exceptional financial assistance to 30 councils this year, including support for eight councils to balance the books in previous years.
Your council tax rate: breakdown by region
- Bath & North East Somerset Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- Bristol Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- Cornwall Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- Devon County Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- Gloucestershire County Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- North Somerset Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- Plymouth City Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- Somerset Council: Rising by 7.49% - compared to 4.99% in 2024/5
- South Gloucestershire Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- Swindon Borough Council: Rising by 4.99% - the same rate as in 2024/5 and 2023/4
- Wiltshire Council: Rising by 4.50% - compared to 4.99% in 2024/5 and 4.99% in 2023/4
'It's incredibly difficult'
Appearing before the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee last week, council leaders were questioned on the council tax system and its impact on finances.
Bill Revans, leader of Somerset Council which has been granted permission to raise council tax by 2.5 percentage points higher than the threshold, said the flexibility has enabled the authority to avoid issuing section 114 declaring effective bankruptcy.
But he said this approach was "not a solution to local government finance".
"It is, of course, welcome because we want to be able to manage our own affairs," he added.
"But at the same time, it's incredibly difficult because ultimately our residents are having to pay more, and at a time when they are seeing less services because the services go to those people most in need of adults and children's social care."
Critics of the council tax system claim that household charges are unfair and ineffective because they are based on property valuations carried out in 1991.
A call for a 'revaluation' of the housing bands
Bristol City Council leader Tony Dyer told the committee that the "vast majority" of properties in the city were placed in the lowest bands A and B, which does not reflect current values and severely restricts council tax revenue.
"The first thing that needs to happen straight away is the revaluation of the various bands," he said.
Mr Dyer added that, despite many residents living in homes with the lowest council tax, there are many people who are unable to pay their bills.
He said: "We need to support these people, but that is being done, essentially, out of local authority budgets.
"In Bristol, we have a council tax reduction scheme which is costing us £43 million pounds a year with no support from the government to provide that."
'Councils should put taxpayers first'
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "While councils are ultimately responsible for setting their own council tax levels, we are clear that they should put taxpayers first and carefully consider the impact of their decisions.
"That's why we are maintaining a referendum threshold on council tax rises, so taxpayers can have the final say and be protected from excessive increases."
A spokesperson for the Local Government Association, which represents councils across England, said: "Councils continue to face severe funding shortages and soaring cost and demand pressures on local services.
"This means that many councils have faced the tough choice about whether to increase bills to bring in desperately-needed funding to provide services at a time when they are acutely aware of the significant burden that could place on some households.
"However, while council tax is an important funding stream, the significant financial pressures facing local services cannot be met by council tax income alone. It also raises different amounts in different parts of the country - unrelated to need.
"The Spending Review needs to ensure councils have adequate funding to deliver the services local people want to see."