An increase in fees and charges will ensure council tax remains frozen, after Richmond Council confirmed its 2015-16 budget on Tuesday evening.

Reduced grants from central Government and a need for savings of between £24m and £32m in the next four years means a smaller capital budget and greater need for operational efficiency, councillors heard at the York House meeting.

Keeping the band D council tax unchanged at £1,287.39 will enable the council to accept one-off funding of £1.2m from the Government’s council tax freeze grant.

Deputy leader of the council, Geoffrey Samuel, said fees and charges would rise above inflation, though youth sport services, non-social services for the over 75s and domestic recycling would remain unchanged until 2018.

He said: "We want to keep to an absolute minimum the council tax we impose on our residents whilst taking an entirely different view towards fees and charges, where residents can decide for themselves whether they want to pay for them or not."

Richmond’s Liberal Democrats put forward an amendment bid highlighting a supposed failure of the council to meet its responsibilities in the areas of early years education and school places, as well as social care and housing. The amendment was voted against by 36 votes to 14.

Opposition spokeswoman for finance, Councillor Jennifer Churchill, accused the council of failing to deliver free education to three and four-year-olds and relying on the private sector to provide these services.

She said: "This means that the parents of three quarters of the borough's three and four year olds face paying more that £1,700 per year for what they are entitled to receive for free."

The recent agreement to share senior staff with Wandsworth Council was also criticised by the opposition, as Coun Churchill pointed to the salary of chief executive Paul Martin, who will serve both boroughs upon the retirement of Richmond chief executive Gillian Norton, is currently paid a salary of more than £235,000.

Coun Churchill said: "We are being offered half a chief executive at twice the cost."

Coun Samuel issued assurances the quality of service would remain the same, and any alternative to the staff-sharing agreement with Wandsworth would have resulted in swingeing cuts elsewhere.

The heated debate saw political mud-slinging from both sides, including one reference to councillors behaving like "stuffed frogs", prompting Coun Samuel to refer to a Hindu proverb.

The council cabinet member for finance said: "Speak only if what you say is an improvement on silence."

The capital budget was set at about £190m, two-thirds of which will be designated for education in order to increase primary, secondary and special school places as well as the development of sixth form centres.