People living in band D properties can expect their council tax bills to rise by nearly £64 this year after a new budget was approved by senior councillors.

Enfield residents will see a 1.99 per cent rise in core council tax and a 2 per cent increase in an extra levy used solely to fund adult social care.

On top of this, there will be a 3.61 per cent increase in a council tax levy charged by the Greater London Authority.

Added together, these changes will push up band D council tax bills to £1,695.84 – an increase of £63.85 on last year’s charge.

The tax hikes are included in Enfield Council’s budget for 2020-21, which was signed off by senior councillors on Wednesday (February 12).

The budget features savings of £9.2 million and income generation totalling £2.7 million, with the council using £1.5 million from its reserves to balance its books.

Senior councillors also approved the medium-term financial plan, which sets out investment in several key areas over the coming financial year.

There will be an extra £1.5 million to hire more social workers in children’s services, £10.3 million to deal with growing demand for social care – funded partly by a Government grant – and £500,000 to tackle youth violence.

At Wednesday’s meeting, cabinet member for finance and procurement Cllr Mary Maguire (Labour, Palmers Green) criticised the Government for announcing one-off funding increases to deal with growing pressures on local authority budgets.

She said: “It is just not good enough. It is difficult enough to plan when we have got these demands and pressures without the uncertainty around funding that has been created by this Government.”

Council leader Cllr Nesil Caliskan (Labour, Jubilee) said: “I think this is a good budget and a sound budget in what are the toughest of times.

“I think we find ourselves at the beginning of a long parliamentary term, where there is no indication that the Government is going to row back on the austerity agenda that has, without a doubt, had a disproportionate impact on the poorest communities that exist in all boroughs.

“This budget reflects a Labour administration’s political priorities and values, and that is to first protect the most vulnerable in our community.”

The budget will be voted on at a meeting of the full council on February 26.