Council tenants across Sheffield were left outraged as it transpired that their inflation-busting rent hike will be blown on a £2 million council IT bill.

The £2.1 million IT bill, agreed by the Council’s Labour Cabinet last week, includes the purchase of 300 laptops or i-pad-style tablets for council staff.

The revelation follows a controversial 6.2% hike in council rents, more than three times inflation and hitting the average Sheffield bill with a £216 increase.

Other local authorities including Lib Dem-controlled Portsmouth City Council and Labour-run Dudley Borough Council have both raised rents below Government guidelines. However, Labour councillors in Sheffield voted down a Liberal Democrat proposal to halve the planned rent hike.

Cllr Penny Baker, Sheffield Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Housing, said:

“When Labour housing bosses forced through their rent bombshell they tried to claim that it was necessary and unavoidable. What they neglected to mention was the £2 million they planned to spend on laptops and tablets for council staff.

“This reform of Council housing services is a good idea but Labour bosses have failed to justify this extortionate IT bill. To hit tenants with a £216 rent hike at a time when many families are struggling with finances is unfair. To then waste that money on expensive IT contracts is an insult to local tenants.”