Households across Hampshire could see their council tax rise by almost five per cent from April as the county council wants to raise an extra £39 million.

The total £836 million expected council tax income for 2024/25 will represent 72.1 per cent of the total funding of the Hampshire County Council’s net budget.

In the last months, some councils under financial pressure have had no alternative but to get the Government to step in due to the economic pressures they are facing.

Despite this, Hampshire County Council insists that its financial position is not as bad as other authorities and its savings plan can keep it afloat as long as the UK government takes responsibility and helps.

However, to get extra funding, the county council proposes increasing the council tax by 4.99 per cent - the maximum allowed without a referendum.

This means that for the year starting on 1 April 2024, the council tax for band D properties would be £1,533.24 instead of the current £1,460.25 – working out as an extra £1.40 a week.

In the recently approved savings plan, the council said it could raise around £90.4 million to plug a £132m budget shortfall by April 2025.

This plan, currently in the consultation phase, includes closing 12 tips, stopping funding support to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, withdrawing funding for community transport services, introducing car parking charges at rural countryside car parks or withdrawing from the school crossing patrols service at, initially, 26 sites.

Following ongoing lobbying, more than 40 MPs sent a letter to the Prime Minister this month urging him to provide emergency funding to councils to prevent major reductions to local services.

As a result, a £600 million package will be sent to councils as an emergency measure.

Although the exact figures each council will receive are not yet known, Hampshire County Council expects to receive £10 million.

The council’s deputy chief executive and director of corporate operations Rob Carr said in a report that this grant is well received and will help reduce reserve levels to balance the budget in 2024/25.

There are “no indications as to whether this funding will be built into future settlements and even if we assume that it is, it means we still face a recurring budget deficit of over £30 million from 2025/26 onward”.

He added: “The extra funding helps to shore up our finances further to 2025/26, but it does not change the underlying fact that our recurring budget position is unsustainable.”

As part of the council reserves strategy, it will continue using £84.7 million from its budget bridging reserve (BBR) for 2024/25, around £2m less than was previously reported.