THE MP for York Outer has criticised City of York Council for pushing ahead with a rise in council tax.

In February, Labour-controlled City of York Council voted to reject a £1.8 million Government grant which would have allowed council tax to be frozen in 2012/13 after it was argued that taking the grant would mean soaring bills or deeper service reductions overall.

But during a debate in the House of Commons, Conservative MP Julian Sturdy asked Eric Pickles, Secretary of State, what he made of the council’s decision to reject a £1.8 million grant from central Government and increase council tax by 2.9 per cent.

In response, Mr Pickles said: “Increasing council tax is not in the interests of York. The council has not protected its council tax payers”.

Speaking after the Communities and Local Government Question exchange, Mr Sturdy described the council’s decision as a “needless tax increase which will hit local residents hard”.