Rutland residents pay the highest Band D Council Tax in the country.

The figures have been revealed by Edinburgh-based Coulters Property, who analysed council tax data from across the UK.

As well revealing where the Council Tax can be found, their figures also revealed where the lowest can be found- in Westminster.

Rutland County Council blames how government grants to it are calculated for the situation.

Cabinet Member for Finance, Coun Gordon Brown, told Nub News: "Rutland has lost nearly £3million of government funding in just five years, forcing us to choose between raising Council Tax to protect services or making cutbacks that will affect families.

"We've chosen to protect services and have avoided frontline cuts by making savings in other areas and learning to do more with less.

Coun Brown continued: "The money that councils receive from government isn't shared equally or fairly. Rutland gets around 50% less government funding per person than the average unitary council.

"We also spend less per person, putting us in the top quartile in terms of efficiency. If Rutland got average funding we would have an extra £5million for local services, making us less reliant on Council Tax.

He added: "As a result of coronavirus, the Council has suffered a loss of income from the closure of services and is incurring extra costs as we continue to respond to protect local residents and communities.

"Despite some additional government funding, our view is that coronavirus may exacerbate the existing funding challenges we face. This is a view that's shared by all councils across England."

A recent inquiry into local government finance by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee illustrated the lack of fairness within the government's current approach to Council Tax.

Paragraph 70 of the Inquiry's report said: "How is it justifiable that Band D Council Tax in the prosperous London Borough of Westminster is £753.85 when compared to a 'high needs' borough like Oldham where, due to long-standing disparities in the assessment of spending need, it is £1,899.61.

"The regressive nature of the tax is also illustrated by the fact that full time weekly average earnings are just £481 per week in Oldham compared to £786 per week in Westminster".

Rutland County Council says it is continuing to lobby government to provide fairer funding for local authorities and, in particular, in our County. It recognises that Rutland has one of the highest Council Tax rates in the country. But it says this is as a direct result of the fact that it receives much lower government funding per head when compared to other Unitary counterparts.

The publication Estate Agent Today backs up Rutland Council in its report of the survey.

It commented: "The irrationality of Britain's council tax system has been laid bare."

Noting a difference in such bills of up to £1300, it continued: "It is by no means the case that so-called better off areas have the highest tax bills."

"The cheapest area is prime central London's Westminster district.

"Quirks in the council tax system and calculations based on the value of homes dating back to April 1 1991 - that's almost 30 years ago - make the tax bills differ wildly."