The Government has allowed Oxfordshire County Council to get away with increasing council tax bills by nearly 12 per cent.

Councillors feared they could be ordered to issue lower bills after Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said he would penalise "excessive council tax increases". The 11.8 per cent increase in Oxfordshire's council tax this year was the highest of any shire county in England and well above the 6.8 per cent average. Mr Prescott announced yesterday that he would not be reducing - or 'capping' - any council budgets this year. It means the council will not have to make more cuts to services or face £500,000 re-billing costs.

Cllr Brian Hodgson, leader of the Labour group on the hung county council, said: "I think they accepted that if we were going to save services it was necessary to have the largest increase in county council tax in England. "We have had a number of letters of objection, but I think we had the overwhelming support of the people of Oxfordshire."

The county's overall budget increase was below the national average of 6.2 per cent. Council tax bills in Oxfordshire are also about £20 lower than the national average despite the 11.8 per cent tax hike.

Story date: Wednesday 14 April

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