The move has been criticised by the LibDems who say it will hit residents and businesses hard in what has been a tough year for all.

They say that in Wiltshire alone, over 15,000 children are living in poverty and many businesses are on the brink of failure because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They claim that each household is set to miss out on a potential saving of £15 if their budget amendment is not accepted.

Cllr Ian Thorn, leader of the Wiltshire LibDem Group, said: "Wiltshire residents and businesses have worked hard this year to battle the impact of Covid.

"It's the duty of Wiltshire Council to do as much as it can to help its residents. Raising council tax by nearly five per cent will only make life harder.

"We are proposing an increase of 3.99 per cent which will hand back £2.8 million to residents without affecting any council services. A welcome step towards recovery in Wiltshire."

"Our view is that Wiltshire Council should not only consider its own financial wellbeing in the budget but the wellbeing of Wiltshire residents and businesses.

"This year, Wiltshire residents have been badly hit by Covid. We have another 1,000 children in Wiltshire entitled to free school meals and we have a public sector pay freeze.

"The LibDems and a future LibDem council will shift the balance from the needs of the council to the needs of our residents."

Under the LibDem budget proposals, the Adult Social Care Levy would be cut from three per cent in 2021/22 to two per cent in 2021/22 with a further one per cent levy in 2022/23.

The loss of funding is around £2.841m in 2021/22. The £2.841m shortfall could be met by withdrawing funds from the Latent Demand Reserve.

The LibDems say they would increase the Hardship Fund from £300,000 to £1m in 2021/22.

Pressure could come from a £700,000 shortfall, which would be made up by an additional withdrawal of cash from the Collection Fund Volatility Reserve.

In addition, the LibDems would ringfence £1m of the funding that comes back from the Government to support businesses which are struggling to pay their business rates.

The money arises against the £1m reduction of Section 31 grants attributed to business rate reliefs in the budget report.

The funding would be transferred to an earmarked reserve specifically to support businesses that are in financial distress by giving them discretionary reliefs or discretionary grants.

Last month, the Conservatives announced that Wiltshire families could pay an extra 4.99 per cent on their council tax if their draft budget for 2021/22 is approved by full council on Tuesday.

Of that, 1.99 per cent is an increase in council tax for the council's general spending, plus a three per cent social care levy.

This means that average Band D taxpayers will shell out £1,590.60 a year to cover the council's costs including highways, refuse, schools and social care. The 4.99 per cent is the maximum increase the council can charge before a local referendum is required.

Researchers from the University of Bath will present their research on topics including loneliness in young people during the pandemic, quitting smoking and the impact of cannabis on mental health.

The Wiltshire Liberal Democrats' health and wellbeing spokesman, Cllr Gordon King said: "We know that the more conversations we have about mental health, the more myths we can correct which will help to end the isolation and shame associated by mental health.

"It is integral that mental health is treated in the same conversation as physical health.

"Together can end the stigma surrounding mental health and this event aims to do that."

Sign up here: https://t.co/NJ8BOgwsqy pic.twitter.com/ItGv8riUzB

- Wiltshire Liberal Democrats 🔶 (@WiltsLibDems) February 2, 2021

The speakers will include Dr Maria Loades, research assistant Katherine Sawyer, and PHD student Katherine Petrelli.

Dr Loades said: "Let's take time to talk about mental health in this pandemic context where physical health has become such a dominant focus.

"Local government has a pivotal role to play in ensuring that mental health and wellbeing gets comparable attention to physical health, which has naturally been a key focus of efforts in the effort to contain the spread of the virus."

This also coincides with Place2Be's Children's Mental Health week which begins next week and is supported by Wiltshire Council.

For more information and to sign up for the free event, click here