Commenting on figures showing an average rise of 2.9% in Council Tax bills across Wales from April 2013, Janet Finch-Saunders AM, Shadow Minister for Local Government, said:

“It is grossly unfair that families in Wales are facing higher Council Tax hikes than anywhere else in the UK because of Labour’s failure to pass on a freeze.

“The Welsh Labour Government has been given additional funding from the UK Coalition specifically to freeze Council Tax for the past three years, but the savings have not been passed on to hard-pressed households.

“At a time when household budgets are under pressure, a Council Tax freeze would have signalled that Ministers are on the side of hardworking families.

“Far from Labour’s big state mentality, Welsh Conservatives trust people, not Welsh Ministers and believe that the people should spend more of their own money.”