A council tax rise and £20m of cuts to council funding in Newcastle have moved closer to fruition on Monday night as plans were approved to deal with what Newcastle Council leader Nick Forbes described as “a difficult and challenging set of circumstances”.

The proposals, which are expected to be confirmed on March 4 after a full council chamber debate, would see a 3.95% in council tax for Newcastle residents with the brunt of cutbacks coming to already financially starved social care services.

Two percent of the tax rise would be to pay for social care, and the 3.95% increase will in total equate to an extra £43.27 a year for Band A properties, £64.90 for Band D, up to £129.80 for Band H.

Furthermore, of the required £20m savings as much as £10m is planned to come from social care funding, meaning both crisis support services and council care facilities will face cutbacks.

These cutbacks come despite a £10.8m cash injection from the government this year that is being used to pay for environmental crime response teams and upgrading local play areas.

This, Cllr Forbes warned, is a one-off payment that cannot be relied on to cover the cuts that former chancellor Sajid Javid advised would be expected.

“We have a one-year settlement which gives us no certainty for the future and continues to push the burden of responsibility onto local council taxpayers” said Forbes.

Liberal Democrat opposition however criticised the council for portraying the cutbacks as “the only viable choice” in comments for The Chronicle.

“Across a range of issues – cost overruns for transport projects, the whittling away of support for our community and voluntary sector, the imposition of parking charges on disabled residents, or the lack of concrete plans to address the climate emergency” – the opposition believes that there are credible alternatives that the administration is unwilling to contemplate, for reasons best known to themselves.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Colin Ferguson

The Liberal Democrats will offer alternative plans at the council meeting on March 4.

These are the latest cutbacks in a series of measures since 2010, with the council having to cut over £300m of spending since 2010.