Council tax: Kent, Surrey and Sussex face increased rates

Council tax payers across the South East are facing increases in their bills in 2023.

The leaders of three of the region's county and unitary authorities have already indicated they will raise council tax by between 4 and 5%.

Increases had been limited to up to 2.99%, without the approval of a local referendum on raising it higher.

Government rules now say a council providing social care can increase bills by 5% without a local vote.

This will be on top of increases imposed by Police and Crime Commissioners and Fire and Rescue services.

Here we take a look at the county and unitary authorities whose council tax rates make up the lion's share of people's tax bills.

Surrey County Council has voted to increase its council tax by 2.99%.

Of that, 0.99% is an increase in general council tax, with the remaining 2% ringfenced for adult social care.

The council said the increase would add £0.94p a week to a Band D property's bill.

The full council voted through the increase on on 7 February.

The council could have increased it by a further 2%, but council leader Tim Oliver said: "This is not the year to be adding to the pressure for residents so that is why we've worked really hard to keep it down to the lowest level we possibly can."

Kent County Council voted through an increase of 4.99% on 9 February, after an eight-hour meeting, bringing the annual bill for a Band D property to £1,534.23.

The council said £202.41 of that amount would be ringfenced to pay for increases in social care costs, where the authority said it has seen the biggest increases, both in care for the elderly and children's services.

Describing it as "not a budget anybody's proud of," cabinet member for finance Peter Oakford called for central government to fully fund social care.

He said: "Until then, my fear is we'll have another round of cuts.

"The council could become insolvent within 12 to 18 months if the funding isn't resolved. There are only so many things we can cut.

"It's not just Kent. It's a national issue which needs a national solution."

East Sussex County Council has voted through a council tax increase of 4.99%, increasing the annual Band D bill by £48.24.

A report to cabinet said: "Significant political changes nationally have led to uncertainty and change to major service reforms which will impact on many of our key frontline services, particularly those for children and vulnerable adults."

It was agreed by the full council on 7 February.

Deputy leader Nick Bennett said the money raised by the increase would mean no cuts to services and no need to identify more savings in the coming financial year.

He said: "We do recognise even a small increase in council tax is painful, but we would say to people your district or borough council can offer a great deal of help if you're really struggling."

West Sussex County Council's budget included a proposed council tax increase of 4.99%.

This sees a Band D property's annual bill rise by £77.67.

Performance and finance scrutiny committee chairman Pieter Montyn said: "The budget is being set in an extremely difficult economic period, with high levels of inflation alongside increasing demand for services and cost of living pressures."

It was passed by 36 votes to nil, with 21 abstentions, in a full council meeting on 17 February.

The leader of Brighton & Hove City Council has described the financial situation as "grim", with council tax bills in the city to rise by 4.99%.

Phelim Mac Cafferty said: "While we are confident that this is the best possible budget in these conditions, we want to be upfront that this is not good news for many. What we are putting forward ensures that the hardships it causes are kept to a minimum."

A draft budget published on 1 February identified savings of £20m, which the Green controlled council blamed on "the cost-of-living crisis, increasing demand on services, inflation and 13 years of Tory austerity".

A plan to close many public toilets and implement charges to use the remaining ones, which sparked protests in January, has been dropped.

Brighton & Hove City Council met to set its budget on 23 February and after six-and-a-half hours of discussion approved the 4.99% increase and £1.1bn of spending.

Medway's Conservative leader Alan Jarrett told his cabinet in January that a 5% increase was needed this year, as he believed they had no choice but to implement the extra 2% allowed specifically to fund social care.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said he told councillors they would be "obliged to consider the 2% increase as a given", as central government would assume it had when it came to future funding awards.

The extra 2% would bring in £2.84m in 2023/24, he said.

Medway Council approved its budget at a meeting of the full council on 23 February. and set a council tax rise of 4.994%, meaning the average band D household will pay £1.52 more a week, or £79.49 a year.

The Police and Crime Commissioners for Kent (Matthew Scott), Sussex (Katy Bourne) and Surrey (Lisa Townsend) have all proposed increasing their share of the council tax by £15 a year, the maximum allowed without a referendum.

All three said an increase of this level was the only way to preserve current police service levels.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].