THE annual council tax bill for an average Band D household in Farnham will increase by almost £60 this April, it has been confirmed, after Surrey County Council and Surrey Police confirmed hikes of 3.9 per cent and 1.99 per cent respectively to their shares of the tax bill for 2016/17.

It comes after Waverley Borough Council signed off a 1.95 per cent increase to its share and Farnham Town Council opted for a 3.87 per cent rise - meaning council tax in Farnham will rise by an average of 3.46 per cent in the next financial year, taking the nominal Band D home’s yearly bill to £1,712.33.

The 3.87 per cent hike compares to a 1.77 per cent increase in 2015/16 and far exceeds the Consumer Price Index inflation rate of 0.2 per cent last recorded in December, marking a further squeeze on living standards.

Setting out their reasons for the tax hikes, councils and the police have collectively blamed growing demand on public services and squeezes on their funding from central government as Whitehall continues to cut the national deficit.

Speaking at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday, Surrey leader David Hodge announced the council has succeeded in securing an extra £11.9m grant this year and £12.2m in 2017/18 after an 11th hour bid to protect public services.

However, he added a 3.9 per cent tax rise, later agreed by councillors, was still essential to help compensate for a £50 million cut to the council’s central government grant settlement for 2016/17.

Mr Hodge said: “With the number of elderly people in our county set to increase by 20,000 by 2020 the cost of providing adult social care services are increasing by a staggering £20 million every year.

“I lobbied hard for councils with adult social care responsibility to be able to raise council tax to deal with this specific pressure. And I was pleased when the Chancellor announced in November’s Autumn Statement that an extra two per cent could be raised.

“It came as a complete shock when ministers announced late in December – just days before Christmas – that they planned to dramatically slash Surrey’s funding by £50m in a single year.

“The support for adult social care we could deliver through the extra two per cent on council tax risked being completely wiped out. So, I have spent the last four weeks impressing on the Government the need to recognise the unprecedented demand being placed on councils such as Surrey.

“Ministers have listened to my concern. £300m of transitional funding will be provided to councils over the next two years to deal with the impact of the reduction in government grant.

“While the transition grant for Surrey is welcome it is not as much as we had hoped for and will still place a strain on services.

“These are challenging times for local government and it is vital Government recognises the very real pressures we are facing. I pledge again my commitment to always do what’s right for Surrey. I will continue to put the case for Surrey to receive a fairer deal.”

David Munro, county councillor for Farnham South and Conservative candidate in the forthcoming police and crime commissioner elections, was among the majority to vote in favour of Surrey’s precept increase on Tuesday.

He said: “The number of older people in Surrey is increasing and while we must celebrate that, it means the number of people needing our support is increasing and the bills just keep going up.

“I regret that we’re having to raise council tax by almost four per cent. But at the same time, we have to look after the people who need looking after and so I voted in favour of the budget with 100 per cent conviction.”

• Surrey’s Police and Crime Panel has also agreed a 1.99 per cent council tax increase proposed by Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Kevin Hurley, generating an extra £3.3 million for Surrey Police in 2016/17.

Mr Hurley said: “While the Chancellor stated in his Autumn Statement that there will be ‘real-term protection for police funding’, this was dependent on individual PCCs increasing the amount we ask the public to pay towards policing,

“I am delighted to have the support of the Police and Crime Panel in this increase. This extra money – costing just £4.30 more per year for a Band D household – will ensure that Surrey Police have the tools they need to hunt down paedophiles, crack down on fraudsters who target the elderly and vulnerable in our society, and respond more quickly to emergency calls for help.”