Residents in Leicestershire are to be hit with the maximum 4.99% Council Tax rise, an equivalent of over £67 for a band D household, after the Conservative County Council passed its budget today.

Opposing the rise the Liberal Democrats, who are the official opposition group on the County Council, hit out at the failure to get fair funding for Leicestershire from the Conservative government.

A group of Leicestershire Councillors have joined Councillors from across the East Midlands in signing a letter to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak calling for more support for those excluded from government Covid support schemes.

An estimated three million people across the country and tens of thousands here in Leicestershire, largely self employed people have not been included in past government support schemes.

Calls have been made for fair funding for Leicestershire Police. The call comes from local Liberal Democrats after figures reveal that residents in Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland are being shortchanged in police funding to the tune of £20 million in funding from the government.

Lib Dem Cllr Michael Mullaney Executive member for Community Safety in Hinckley and Bosworth said "People want more police on local streets. Sadly the Conservative government is shortchanging residents in Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland by £20 million. If our area's Police was funded the same as the national average we would have £20 million extra to spend putting more police on local streets. Sadly this underfunding of our Police service is yet another example of how this Conservative government puts Leicestershire to the back of the queue.