Labour anger as council leader's ward has largely unaffected by Northumberland Council tax changes

Labour has continued its attack on cuts to council-tax support in Northumberland, as figures show how the reductions will disproportionately impact wards it represents.

From April, all households in the county will have to pay a minimum of eight per cent of their council-tax bill, following approval for changes to save £1million a year.

At Northumberland County Council's full meeting in January, members agreed a reduction in the level of council-tax support for working-age claimants from 100 to 92 per cent.

The change attracted some fervent criticism, but was passed by 31 votes to 26, with six abstentions, while an amendment to drop the cut as part of last week's budget debate was not put to the vote as it had already been passed the previous month.

Now, Labour has released information obtained under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, in which, they say, 'the unfair nature of balancing the county's books is laid bare'.

A breakdown of the number of people to be affected in each of the 66 council wards shows that there is a large discrepancy between different areas, much of it along party-political lines.