More cash for Stroud’s local services has become available after the Government dropped what district councillors described as a “stealth tax”.

Over £500,000 would have been taken from Stroud District Council’s coffers next year under the Government’s plan, which had become known as a ‘negative revenue support grant’.

But after lobbying from the district council along with counterparts across the country, the plans have now been shelved, leaving SDC £549,000 better off for the next financial year.

Councillors had voted to refuse to pay the money in October in a protest against austerity.

"The Conservative government has cut our funding for the past seven years and we have, reluctantly, made the necessary savings in order to pass balanced budgets as required by law,” Labour, Green and Liberal Democrats on the council jointly argued at the time.

"It is our moral duty as councillors to ensure we do all we can to prevent any more suffering.

"Our country and our citizens cannot bear it. Enough is enough.”

In a statement after dropping the plans, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are committed to working with councils on the fairest and most affordable way to resolve the issue of so-called ‘negative RSG’, and we are doing just that.

“Our preferred approach is for government to meet the cost, so councils like Stroud do not lose out. We believe this is the fairest solution.”

Though the policy reversal leaves the district council with more money for now, Green councillor for Stroud Valley Martin Baxendale wants more reassurance the plans have been shelved for good.

"As a start, I was pushing for us to step up our lobbying as the deadline for the introduction of this new stealth tax early next year got closer," he said.

“The Government have backed down and scrapped the plan for next year, but have made no promises about what will happen in future years.

“I don’t trust them, and I worry that at some point they will try to re-impose this tax or something similar.

"So I want the council to continue lobbying and working with others, like the Local Government Association, our local MPs and other councils, to resist any possibility of a sneaky double u-turn on this.”