KENT council taxpayers face another inflation-busting council tax increase that will see even more households struggling with bills of £1,000 and more this year.

County councillors have confirmed a 4.75 per cent increase in bills that will push average bills up by £41 to £918 for those in Band D homes.

The largest number of council taxpayers in Kent live in Band C homes and for them, the KCC share of the bills will rise to £816, the equivalent of 73 pence a week.

However, the final bill will top four figures for a far larger number of people once the council taxes for the district council, Kent Police and Kent Fire Authority are all included.

KCC agreed its £1.3billion budget as politicians engaged in the annual ritual of trading claim and counter-claim over who was to blame for yet another increase.

County Hall’s Conservative leaders said the government had landed it with one of the worst financial settlements in the country, with central goverment grants representing an increase in real terms of just 0.3 per cent overall.

That was countered by the opposition Labour group, who accused KCC of ignoring a record increase in education spending that will see the budget for the county’s schools increase by 6.9 per cent.

Cllr Paul Carter, KCC’s Conservative leader, accused the government of ignoring Kent’s special needs, such as an increasingly ageing population.

“While we welcome a 6.9 per cent increase for schools, other areas such as adult care, highways and child protection have only received 0.3 per cent,” he said.

“Why hasn’t the government listened to the arguments about our atypical needs? It is impossible to understand why we are getting the worst settlement of all authorities in the country.”

Opposition Labour leader Cllr Mike Eddy said it was not just Kent that had particular burdens, such as an ageing population.

He accused KCC of behaving like Kevin, the TV teenage caricature created by comedian Harry Enfield. “All you can say is 'it’s not fair.’ All parts of the country have particular needs that need funding.”

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Trudy Dean said KCC’s budget failed to set out how it intended to improve services in areas where the council was poor.

“KCC is very keen to say where things are good but we need to know where money is going to improve our performance where it is bad,” she said.