Four in 10 households to see council tax bills rise Cipfa found that across England, the council tax bill for the average band D home is increasing by 0.3 per cent or £4.46 to £1,443.79 from next month. The largest rise for a band D council tax bill is in the North East of England where it will rise by 0.9 per cent or £13.43 while Greater London will see a decrease of 0.3 per cent or £4.19. Local authorities have to set their annual council tax bills by March 10. In all 229 councils out of 348 in England responded to Cipfa's survey. Cipfa found that none of the councils which are increasing the tax would increase their bills by more than four per cent. The Localism Bill gives people the right to a referendum on council tax if it increases by over a percentage pre-determined by central government. This percentage is currently four per cent for police and fire authorities and 3.5 per cent for other authorities and, at present, no councils are set to exceed this limit. Ian Carruthers, Cipfa's policy director, said: "Councillors must take council tax decisions based on local priorities. For the most part, councils have responded positively to the Government's offer of council tax freeze funding. Where rises are planned none appear likely to trigger a local referendum. Cipfa added that cuts to services and jobs were "likely to continue as councils must balance their budgets." Last night a Whitehall source said that the Government was keen to bring in elected police commissioners to provide greater scrutiny of police and fire precepts. Grant Shapps, Local Government minister, said: "Council tax doubled under Labour. But this Government is working to freeze council tax for two years, helping hard-working families and pensioners with their cost of living. This survey confirms that council tax will be frozen again this year for most households, with an average change across England of just a mere 0.3 per cent - which is a significant tax cut in real terms. In January, Mr Pickles said councils had a moral duty to freeze council tax for people struggling with rising household budgets. Fifteen local authorities had said they plan to defy the government. The Government has pledged £1billion to help English town halls freeze the levy, but councils claim they would still face a shortfall. They can reject the Government's offer but must hold a referendum if they want to raise council tax by more than 3.5 per cent.