Third of local authorities refuse to freeze council tax leaving some areas facing above inflation hikes,,,

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The average UK council tax bill will rise below the rate of inflation in April but, as two thirds of councils are freezing bills, the rise will by far higher in some areas.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) today confirmed that the average Band D council tax bill would rise by £12 - or 0.8 per cent - to £1,456 from April. It means the average bill will fall in real terms as inflation is running at 2.8 per cent.

However, the rise in the average is driven by just a third of councils. The rest have granted ministers' wish for local authorities to freeze bills in exchange for a central government grant to help meet higher costs.

In all, 257 of the 421 eligible English authorities (61 per cent) qualified for a DCLG grant worth 1 per cent of their council tax bills by imposing a freeze or reduction in the charge - down from 90 per cent in 2012/13. It means a third of councils rejected the offer of central Government help.

Councils imposing the highest rises in percentage terms are Conservative-held Breckland in Norfolk (7.6 per cent), North Dorset (4.8 per cent), East Lindsey in Lincolnshire (4.4 per cent) and South Cambridgeshire (4.3 per cent), and Labour-held Exeter (4 per cent).

But some 131 Conservative councils - around seven out of 10 - are freezing their council tax, compared with 51 Labour - about half - and 10 Liberal Democrat.

Big bands: The largest bills to be landing on Band D doorsteps will be in Rutland (£1,701), Hartlepool (£1,686) and Kingston-upon-Thames (£1,683 - pictured)

The largest bills to be landing on Band D doorsteps will be in Rutland (£1,701), Hartlepool (£1,686), Kingston-upon-Thames (£1,683), Newark & Sherwood (£1,657) and Central Bedfordshire (£1,652).

The average in London will be £1,302, £119 less than in other metropolitan areas (£1,421). It will be £1,486 in unitary authority areas and £1,510 in shire districts.

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Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the tax has fallen by 9.7 per cent in real terms under the coalition Government.

'Council tax more than doubled under Labour,' said Pickles. 'But Conservatives in Government have worked to freeze council tax for three years, helping hard-working families and pensioners with their cost of living.

'Over the last three years, council tax bills have fallen by almost 10 per cent.

'Ed Miliband's Labour Party opposes freezing council tax, which shows how Labour remain addicted to higher taxes, and are on the side of bureaucracy, wasteful spending and not the taxpayer.'

Local Government Association chairman Sir Merrick Cockell said local authorities want to keep council tax down, pointing out that 'the vast majority' froze bills over the past two years and many have done the same this year.

But he added: 'The Government's offer to help local authorities freeze council tax is a short-term one which does not address the huge long-term pressures facing councils, including bigger cuts than almost any other part of the public sector and an immediate and growing crisis in funding care for the elderly.

'Government has cut council funding by 33 per cent and, with last week's Budget signalling further cuts to come, local authorities have to consider the impact this will have on local services and the people who rely on them.'

Sir Merrick said councils have already delivered 'significant' efficiency savings and cut their annual pay bill by more than £1.4billion.

But cuts to funding are making it 'increasingly difficult' to protect services like caring for the elderly, protecting vulnerable children, collecting bins and promoting economic growth.

'In order to carry on doing this effectively, local authorities have had to use local discretion to consider the long-term interests of their residents before deciding if they could afford to take up the Government offer to freeze council tax for a further year,' he said.