Millions of households face council tax hikes beyond the maximum threshold this year.

The government announced on Monday six English councils have been given the green light to increase the levy above 4.9% from April 2025. Deputy PM said the move was vital to protect cash-strapped councils facing "significant financial difficulty" after 14 years of Tory rule.

In a written statement in the Commons, Ms Rayner said the government is "under no illusions about the fragile state" of local government. She added: "For too long, councils have seen budgets cut and forced to turn to excessive tax rises to continue to deliver vital frontline services."

Councils across England have been given permission to hike council tax by a maximum threshold of 4.9% in order to plug gaps in their budgets. Under the current rules if they go above the threshold they must hold a referendum among local voters.

But the Deputy PM said six councils - Windsor and Maidenhead, Birmingham, Bradford, Newham, Somerset and Trafford - will be able to press on with even higher increases.

Bradford will see a raise of around 10% while Newham residents in east London face seeing their council tax go up by around 9%.

In Windsor and Maidenhead the government rejected a request for an overall 25% hike and have instead been given permission for a 9% rise. The figure is 7.5% in the remaining councils of Birmingham, Trafford, and Somerset.

Ms Rayner said: "These are difficult decisions that government has not taken lightly. We recognise the importance of limited increases in helping to prevent these councils falling further into financial distress – but we have been clear this must be balanced with the interests of taxpayers."

She added: "We have agreed to a limited number of requests and in all cases have not agreed to the full amount requested. Where we have agreed, it is only for councils with amongst the lowest levels of council tax, and where we expect, even after these increases, residents will still be paying less than the average compared with similar councils.

"At a national level, even with these increases, the overall increase in council tax is not expected to exceed last year’s."

The statement also confirmed that councils will have access to more than £69 billion in funding this year - a 6.8% increase in cash terms compared to 2024-25.

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