Council tax 'will rise by £100 a year'

Council tax bills in England will rise by at least a £100 a year unless the Government plugs a £2.2bn "black hole" in local government finances, council leaders have warned.

The Tory-led Local Government Association said the demands being made on councils for action across a range of policy areas were outstripping the resources available to pay for them.

Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, the Conservative chairman of the LGA, said town halls would be forced to increase their tax demands unless they received a "substantial" injection of government cash. The claims were dismissed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as "pure fantasy". It accused the LGA of "crying wolf" before the annual local government settlement, expected to be declared next month.