A COUNCIL tax increase three times the inflation rate has been confirmed by Durham County Council.

Householders will have to pay 9.17 per cent more for services such as education, social work and waste disposal, but the rise could be the fourth lowest of the 34 shire counties in England and Wales.

Neighbouring Northumberland and North Yorkshire are asking for an extra 12.8 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively but in affluent Hertfordshire the rise is 18.7 per cent, in Suffolk it is 18.5 per cent and in Devon it is 18 per cent.

The total amount people will pay - and the overall council tax increase - will not be known until the district and parish councils and police authority finalise their spending plans.

The increase means that the Labour-run county council's share of the council tax has risen by 42.5 per cent since its first budget under the Labour government in 1998.

The council rejected a call by the Liberal Democrats to limit the increase to 8.73 per cent by finding further efficiency savings and taking a tougher line on staff absence.

The council was disappointed that the Government's revamp of the grant funding formula gave a bigger increase to the Midlands.

Lobbying for a better settlement - particularly in social services where more affluent areas got bigger awards - brought instead a £200,000 cut in the final grants total.

Independent councillor John Shuttleworth attacked the Government for favouring middle England over its heartland and hit out at County Durham's Labour MPs who voted for the finance bill. Of the MPs, he said: "It may be time that some de-selections were proposed.''

Council leader Ken Manton said the council was focusing spending on priorities including improving GCSE exam results, providing more care home places to avoid fines for hospital bed blocking, tackling truancy and paying increased fees to private care providers.

Proposed new charges: Band A £602.28 (+£50.58); B £702.66 (+£59.01); C £803.04 (+£67.44); D £903.42 (+£75.87); E £1,104.18 (+£92.73); F 1,304.94 (+£109.59); G £1,505.70 (+£126.45); and H £1,806.84 (+£151.74).