Local government minister
His appeal comes as the Local Government Association calls for a contingency fund to help pay for the additional costs of mass immigration.
The LGA has also said that the central government grant settlement, with a rise of just one per cent in real terms, is the "worst in a decade".
In a speech to the New Local Government Network on Thursday, Healey said that councils should local tax rises "substantially below" five per cent through "new levels of ambition and innovation."
Healey is referring to new powers given to councils to raise money by borrowing for capital expenditure, imposing planning charges, congestion charging, workplace parking levies and additional business rates.
Asked if businesses might be alarmed at the scale of levies they could face, Healey told the Financial Times: "I would not expect any council to go for the full set."
