Ministers have warned local authorities that they will be capped if they insist on setting high council tax rises this year.

Nick Raynsford, the local government minister, has written to 56 authorities after reports surfaced that they plan to raise council tax by more than five per cent.

Meanwhile, a new ICM poll suggests that householders blame the government for last year’s 13 per cent average increase in council tax.

The poll, commissioned by the Local Government Association Conservative Group, found that 39 per cent blamed ministers, and 24 per cent said the councils themselves were culpable.