COUNCIL Tax rises next year could hit double figures as St Helens again loses out in the Government's Budget stakes.

The council needs to find £3 million to balance the books despite recent news that the Government estimated that it was under-funding the town by a massive £8.5 million.

Council Leader Dave Watts fumed: "Even when we find the £3 million and spend at capping level, just to maintain services, the Budget still means that Council Tax will have to rise.

"There's nothing we can do about it - it's down to Government under-funding. The Government admitted that we were millions short and said they would do something about it. Obviously words are cheap but their actions are expensive for the residents of St Helens."

"Again we see huge discrepancies. Westminster's permitted increase in budget is 16.2 % against 3.4% for St Helens. If we have the same level of grant support as Westminster we would be sending cheques for £930 to council tax payers."

The council chief pledged that protecting vital services for children and the elderly would remain paramount, but said he was deeply concerned as to how further savings could be made on a budget which has already been reduced by the Government by £50 million-plus. "This year alone we have already sliced more than £2 million off our budget."

St Helens Council has been highly commended by the District Audit for its cost-effective and efficient services, and the authority has reduced its departments to just four, cutting layers of management over the past few years.

But Councillor Watts stressed that education and social services would remain top of the council's agenda in the fight to maintain services to the public.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.