A RISE in council housing rents will affect the most vulnerable people living in Wigan borough, councillors have claimed.

Wigan Council has been accused of increasing costs "at the earliest opportunity" after being forced by the government to reduce rent for five years.

A two per cent rise will see the average weekly rent go up from £75.35 to £76.85 from April next year, meaning tenants will pay around £1.50 extra each week.

The extra money will be used to invest in more council housing, while also recouping some of the nearly £30 million in rental income lost by the council since 2016.

Councillors met on Wednesday to approve the "difficult" proposals, but some opposition independent members expressed their objections to the move.

Cllr Steve Jones said: “This is going to affect the worst off in our borough.

“Two per cent doesn’t sound a lot, but say it goes up by two per cent again next year and the year after – that’s a lot of money.”

While understanding the reasons behind the council’s decision, Cllr Stuart Gerrard said: “They’re putting it back up at the earliest opportunity they get.”

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Cllr Paul Maiden felt the rise would impact on those on "lower end" incomes with wages stagnating.

He added: “I think for two per cent I don’t think it’s enough to build more affordable houses.”

Following government reforms in 2012, local authorities have been able to invest more in affordable homes by retaining council rent income in a Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

In the same year Wigan Council took out a £99 million loan for its HRA thinking it would receive a steady increase in rental income every year.

But in 2015 the government announced annual cuts to social housing rents over five years, causing the council to lose out on potential rental income worth £29.8 million.

Cllr Terry Halliwell said: “The government told us to take out a loan, then forced us to reduce our rents without telling us.”

The portfolio holder for housing and welfare told the meeting that council tenant representatives – "the voices of the people" – had given their unanimous backing to the rent rise.

The leader of the council, Cllr David Molyneux, admitted that it was "always difficult" to talk about rents but thanked the tenant representatives for taking the changes on board.