Birmingham given go-ahead to raise council tax by up to 10%

Michael Gove approves exceptional rise for UK’s biggest local authority, affecting 1m people, and three other bankrupt councils

Council tax in Birmingham is likely to increase by up to 10% after the government allowed the local authority to bypass the national cap without the need for a local referendum.

The increase will affect more than 1 million people in the UK’s largest local authority, which declared itself effectively bankrupt last year due to a £300m budget gap.