BRIGHTON and Hove City Council’s Green administration wants to increase council tax by nearly 6% instead of slashing claimants’ benefits.

Council officers have recommended targeting council tax benefit claimants in a bid to plug a £26 million budgetary black hole.

Currently claimants pay just 8.5% of full council tax, however officers have suggested the figure is increased to 25% next April – a near-three fold overnight increase.

But the Green Party has instead proposed a 5.9% city-wide increase in council tax.

If accepted by councillors, the Green Party’s planned increase would be well above the 2% cap set by central government. As a result it would trigger a city-wide referendum.

Councillor Ollie Sykes, Green lead member for finance, said: "Increasing the council tax paid by those on the lowest incomes is unacceptable to us. It could mean that a low income couple or family in an average Band D property would suddenly have to find nearly £400 a year in council tax, on top of rising rents and fuel bills, with no corresponding rise in income. It's one of the worst cases of this government taking money away from those with the very least, while doing nothing at very wealthy end of the scale.

"I can partly understand why the council finance team is looking at this now. With the central government subsidy having been cut, the money to fund this scheme has to come from somewhere.

"Plenty of other councils are already hitting low income households, and not just the predictable Tory ones. Labour controlled Rochdale and Bradford are among 21 councils that already charge 25% or more, while Labour controlled Wakefield charges a whopping 30%.  This is a Labour authority increasing taxes for the least well off while doing nothing at the other end of the scale.

"But in Brighton and Hove, Greens are saying no. And because the money has to come from somewhere, we're recommending a 5.9% council tax increase for those who can afford it. A comparatively modest 5.9% rise can avoid passing on an unacceptable trebling of tax to the hardest hit in our society."

Warren Morgan, leader of the Labour Group on the council, said: "The Greens’ unworkable scheme will only happen if residents voted for a £100 a year council tax increase in a doomed referendum costing almost a million pounds, one that would hit the very people they claim to be trying to help.

"Instead of calling on the Conservative government to reverse this cut to support local people on low incomes, they are instead playing political games to try and make Labour look bad ahead of the local elections. Residents have had enough of the Greens and their games, and are now looking to Labour to take the fight to the Tories in May.”

The proposal is on the agenda for council meetings next month.