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Council tax is set to go up next year in order to pay for a £700 million police funding increase, according to reports.

The government plans to plough the cash into struggling forces across the UK, but cash-strapped households will shell out an additional £24 each year, it is claimed.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid is said to have pushed for even more money.

Around £200 million will come from the Treasury, with the rest set to raised through council taxes.

An estimated 20,000 frontline police jobs have been lost since the government's austerity programme was introduced in 2010.

Cuts have been blamed for an increase in violent crime.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

The Home Office declined to comment on the reported funding plans.

A spokeswoman said: "We do not comment on leaked documents.

"We will be setting out the police funding settlement for 2019-20 to Parliament in due course."

A source told the Sun that the Home Office and Treasury have been arguing over the increase for some time, with Mr Javid aiming for as much as £30.

"The final figure is likely to be lower but it’s clear council tax is going up to help find the money for all this," the source said.

(Image: Evening Gazette)

A police forces pension blackhole has left the Treasury needing to find £165 million, as well as extra money to tackle crime.

Police and crime commissioners are able to raise council tax without a referendum under existing powers.

The average increase last year was £12 for Band D properties.

Ministers have blasted the Home Office for using council tax as a way to fund cops.

Since 2010, funding had fallen by 19%, MPs on the cross-party Public Accounts Committee said, but the proportion of money coming from council tax had risen from 26% to 36%.