A FOUR per cent council tax rise has been approved across Hampshire.

Ratepayers will be hit for the first time in six years after Hampshire County Council set a budget tackling a £48million black hole.

UKIP called on county chief Roy Perry to resign, saying he had failed to take on the government over the budget “travesty”.

The Conservative-led council said shire counties had been unfairly targeted by the government, with Hampshire facing a 37 per cent cut to its grant in 2016/17.

The rate increase, including a 2 per cent rise to help fund social care, was approved at cabinet yesterday. (Fri Feb 5) It will cost a band D ratepayer an extra 80p a week and raise £20.4 million per year – enough to fill around 40 per cent of the new shortfall.

The cut of £48million next year – more than double what the council expected – means it will have slashed nearly half a billion pounds since 2010.

Calling on the leader to resign, UKIP leader Cllr Chris Wood said: “I will not support cuts to services of this magnitude and I could not remain a member of a political party which treats local government with such contempt.

“I am aghast at the complete and utter lack of any backbone from the leader of this council or his cabinet to properly resist the measures placed upon us by Westminster.”

Daily Echo:

Cllr Perry, above, resisted the call to quit, quoting from a letter he sent to David Cameron last month expressing “deepest concerns” about the budget cuts.

He added: “We enter this round having the county council with the second lowest council tax precept.

“My guess is that we will certainly retain that position of being the county with the second lowest precept in the country, but still with an enviable record of the services that we produce.

“I am sure we will be able to avoid compulsory redundancies as we have done in the past.”

Chancellor George Osborne has delayed announcing the final amount to be cut until next week, offering hope that councils could be given an easier deal.

Government grants have been cut by an average 30 per cent in counties like Hampshire, compared to 19 per cent in inner London boroughs and 25 per cent in unitary authorities like Southampton.

Deputy leader said Hampshire taxpayers were being “unduly hit and unfairly hit” by Westminster.

“It’s not a good plan to constantly hit those parts of the country that are generating net amounts of revenue to the central exchequer,” he said. “If you go on doing that, it means finally that you’re going to get less revenue in the centre because those areas that are generating the wealth are unfairly targeted for cuts.”

Most of the 2,700 residents who responded to a consultation said the council should dip into the county’s £400million reserves, cut spending on some services and increase council tax.

The council estimates that chancellor George Osborne’s new minimum wage, boosting the pay packets of many carers and other low-paid agency staff, will cost an extra £45m per year.

Cabinet also approved an £800m investment programme, with £230m to be spent on school buildings and £129m on roads and bridges by 2019.