HOUSEHOLDS will be hit with a brutal council tax hike next month, with the average bill going up £109.

For the third year running, almost all town halls will raise levies by the maximum five per cent threshold — meaning the annual cost for band D properties will hit £2,280.

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The figure marks a 20 per cent rise on 2021-22, when the average band D bill was £1,898.

Local authorities insist they need to hike their charges to fill budget black holes and pay for soaring demands such as adult social care.

And 18 councils will instantly go bust next March, when massive debts for providing schooling for kids with special educational needs land on balance sheets, the County Councils Network warned.

Those deficits were allowed to be kept aside from main council budgets, but the deal ends in 2026, forcing them to absorb the crippling costs.

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Shadow Local Government Secretary Kevin Hollinrake yesterday accused PM Sir Keir Starmer of causing more woe for town halls by slapping extra National Insurance Contributions on employers.

He said: “This Labour government is driving up costs for councils across the country.

“This has been engineered by Labour, who have left town halls to take the blame when record bills hit the doormat.”

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are under no illusion about the scale of financial issues facing councils we inherited and our work is underway to fix the foundations and bring long-term stability to the sector.

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“And while councils are ultimately responsible for setting their own council tax levels, we have been clear that they should put taxpayers first and carefully consider the impact of their decisions.”

The County Councils Network called on ministers to urgently set out how they will tackle the special educational needs funding crisis.

"It said: “We are 12 months away from what would be a financial catastrophe for local councils.”