COUNCIL taxpayers in Kent could face a ten per cent hike in bills next year unless the Government agrees to make a massive injection of funds, says a report.

The increase would represent an average increase of about £85 on the Kent County Council share of the council tax, with Band D bills rising from £858 to about £943.

The report, produced by the Local Government Association, warns that councils across the country face a £2.2billion black hole unless the Government gives them more money to meet underfunded spending pressures.

Cllr Nick Chard, KCC’s cabinet member for finance, said the prospect of cuts in services could not be ruled out and the council’s capacity to make more savings was limited.

"It is an enormous dilemma for us. The Chancellor Gordon Brown expects us to increase the amount of council tax yield by 7.5 per cent yet we could be capped if we increase bills by more than five per cent. There will not be enough money from central government to allow us to keep council tax bills down."

He would not be drawn on what the increase would be but said that once KCC had taken out money it had to give to schools, it would be left with an increase of less than one per cent to fund additional pressures on services.

Among these is a law forcing councils to recycle all electrical equipment, dealing with licensing applications and tougher environmental standards.

Former KCC Conservative leader and chairman of the LGA Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said: "The Government is making ever more legislative and policy demands on councils without providing an equivalent level of funding."

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said councils were crying wolf and made similar predictions about bill increases every year.