With concerns growing over the cost-of-living crisis, one council has announced plans to freeze its council tax rate for another year.

Cllr Jeremy Kite, leader of Dartford Borough Council (DBC), has confirmed there are no plans to take advantage of new rules allowing local authorities to raise taxes by up to 5%.

He said: "The government’s decision to raise the cap on what councils may impose is largely irrelevant to the DBC component of the bill because we try to keep it as low as possible anyway.

"We were one of the few councils to freeze our tax last year and we propose to do so again in 2023."

The council is taking a similar stance to rent payments for council homes with plans to halt any rises for the New Year.

Cabinet member for housing Cllr David Mote said: “There is a general feeling that council rents across the country may rise sharply next year but Dartford will be bucking the trend.

"[This] obviously has benefits for the council’s tenants not just this year but going forward too.”

The council’s proposals will go out for public consultation with a final decision due to be taken in February.