Council tax payers asked for more

Council tax bills in Barnsley are set to rise by 5.35% - with most of the extra money going to education and social services.

The increase has been agreed by the ruling Labour group and is expected to be approved by the full council.

It means most householders in Barnsley will be paying around an extra 70p a week from April.

At the same time, all Barnsley Council departments are being asked to make efficiency savings of 2%.

'Big pressures'

Council leader Steve Houghton said: "We appreciate people do not want to see increases.

"But there are big pressures on education and social services to spend more money.

"We have been given spending targets from the government on both these budgets.

"We think the 5.35% increase is reasonable."