Kingston’s council tax will rise by nearly 4 per cent from April after central Government funding to the borough was slashed again.

Councillors were left reeling by the Government’s announcement at Christmas that it would cut unexpected extra millions from Kingston’s revenue support grant, taking the total to some £20m over four years.

This year Kingston Council must make £14.8m of cuts to services to keep up.

The authority’s costs will also rise in that period and it will begin charging residents extra for elderly and vulnerable people’s care, using a 2 per cent social care precept on council tax created by Government.

The total rise will therefore be 3.99 per cent, as Kingston has opted to raise core council tax by 1.99 per cent – the highest possible rise that does not require a vote.

Council leader Kevin Davis said: "The Government has got this wrong, but at short notice it is impossible to re-open the Treasury's financial coffers.

"We are an innovative administration that has found ground-breaking ways to reduce expenditure, but this additional £2.6m announcement at Christmas has been too much to find at short notice."

Councillor David Glasspool, cabinet member for treasury, said: "We have decided that it is best to let the main burden of the £14.8m savings fall on services and balance this with the minimum increase in council tax possible under the Government’s settlement."

Council tax has been frozen for the past two years, with the average charge for a Band D property remaining at £1,379.65. The area’s levy was among the top 10 highest in the country for 2014-15, according to a comparison published by the Daily Telegraph.

Coun Davis added: "Am I upset that the amount we received from grants has been cut? I’m upset at the speed of how it’s been cut.

"I think they could’ve done it in a way which could’ve been more helpful to us.

"We’ve been disadvantaged at the benefit of inner London boroughs."

He said he has written twice to ministers in his capacity as council leader and once yesterday, alongside the council, to implore Government to extend its consultation into the settlements, which ends today.

Neither Coun Davis nor Coun Glasspool could say whether Kingston residents should expect a further council tax hike in April 2017.

The Government is moving towards allowing councils to keep 100 per cent of their business rates, a policy slated for introduction in 2020 - though earlier is better, as far as Kingston Council is concerned.

Coun Davis said: "We’ve been the authority at the forefront of trying to retain business rates.

"If there is an opportunity for other London boroughs to come in with us then we are looking into that with them."