County councillors agreed to raise council tax by 5.99 per cent to help “prioritise frontline services” during a budget meeting this afternoon.

David Williams, Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, said 3 per cent of the increase will go towards adult care services and the remaining 2.99 will help fund all other services.

This increase will mean Band D households will pay an extra £1.44 a week.

Cllr Williams said: “We believe the budget we have set will enable us to meet the challenges of our ageing and growing population. We will continue to prioritise frontline services for those residents who most need our support.

“We will continue to develop and invest in new ways to deliver quality services in the most efficient way possible. We are establishing a dedicated growth and infrastructure team to provide the capacity and expertise to respond to the need for the 90,000 plus new homes planned by district and borough councils and the 90,000 new jobs required in Hertfordshire over the next 15 years.

“Our recent budget consultation showed that the majority of residents would rather see council tax increases than service reductions. While we would prefer not to place this extra burden on local council tax payers, we have a responsibility to do the best for all of our residents, particularly those most in need of our support.”

The county council is also set to invest £25.7m over the next four years towards maintaining the standard of roads.

Since 2010, the county council has made savings of almost £290m and says it needs to make further savings of £101.5m by 2021 and 2022.