COUNCIL tax payers in Northumberland are facing an increase of nearly four per cent – more than twice the rate of inflation.

The tax increase of 3.9 per cent was voted through by a majority of councillors at Northumberland County Council’s full council meeting at County Hall on Wednesday.

The debate came on the same day that a report was released by the Resolution Foundation – a think tank which focuses on raising living standards – saying typical working-age household incomes were not expected to rise over the next two years.

The organisation’s Living Standards Outlook report added that the proportion of children living in relative poverty was on course to hit 37 per cent by 2022.

But county councillor Nick Oliver, from the Conservative-led administration, said the proposed council tax rise was based on protecting frontline services.

“We have to balance the books. Therefore that means producing a budget that makes significant savings,” he said.

“There’s pressure on services, but we think we’ve struck a balance. It isn’t something we do lightly, and we would prefer not to do it, but we’re expecting to be able to improve our frontline services which will have greater rewards in the long term.”

The government recently gave local authorities the option to add an additional six per cent on their council tax bills to pay for adult social care services. The council raised its by one per cent, which will bring in an extra £1.9m.

The increase also includes a £385,615 increase in the money raised through parish precepts compared to last year. These range from an increase of 11.4 per cent in Prudhoe to a reduction of 67.5 per cent in Kirkwhelpington.

Funds for Northumbria Police are also raised through the council tax with an increase of 21.8 per cent, meaning Band D properties would pay an additional £24 for police services in the region.