Bradford Council Tax bills will soar by more than three times the rate of inflation.

The 9.1 per cent rise for 2003/4 means, for the first time, the average Band D bills - homes worth between £68,000 and £88,000 - will be more than £1,000 a year.

The Council's share of the increase is 7.6 per cent. The remainder comes from hefty rises in police and fire precepts.

But during a heated one-and-a-half hour-long meeting in City Hall last night Labour councillors were accused by the Conservative and Liberal Democrats of "sitting on their backsides" over the budget process in a tit-for-tat debate where the ruling Tories were said to be "talking the talk and not delivering the services."

The Conservative and Liberal Democrats voted together to push their joint budget through which gives £8 million extra for education and more than £2m extra for social services.

The £1.3m previously set aside for the Capital of Culture bid is replaced by a £1.7m allocation for the new Cultural Consortium, museums and libraries, sports and youth programmes, a litter awareness campaign, a lighting the city project, and improvements to Bradford's "gateway" routes.

The budget includes £500,000 for a fire safety programme in schools and £100,000 for school community cohesion projects.

Labour proposed a budget which would have put two per cent less on Council Tax than the Tory/Liberal Democrat proposals. It included £9.5m extra for schools.

The Green Party also produced its own budget including £200,000 for improvement grants to help people living in sub-standard homes.

Deputy Council leader Simon Cooke said it was "disappointing and pathetic" that no Labour budget had been produced for discussion at the executive committee meeting on Tuesday but had simply appeared on the day of the council meeting.

He said the Tories had shown a genuine commitment to improvements.

But leader of the Labour Group Coun Ian Greenwood said the estimate of obtaining only £2m from capital receipts (sale of assets) would be the lowest ever if it was correct.

"You are trying to create a massive political slush fund," he said.

The Labour Group was also attacked by Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Jeanette Sunderland who said: "They turned up today with things we haven't had time to discuss. It is lazy politics and totally unacceptable."

But Councillor Ralph Berry (Lab, Wibsey) said: "You have drawn up a budget which is just what you were always going to do. It was dumped there on the table. You never consulted us."

People in Keighley and Ilkley will pay a small additional precept for their town and parish councils.

Leeds Council has voted to put its own share up by 7.9 per cent but the police and fire precepts bring it to 9.4 per cent. It means average Band D Council Tax payers in the district will pay £930.40 a year - a rise of £84.41.

Kirklees Council will put up its share of Council Tax by 6.7 per cent, making an 8.2 per cent rise when the police and fire precepts are added. Bills for Band D properties will be £1,086 - an increase of £82.

Calderdale's Council Tax will be agreed on Monday but so far there is no indication of what the increase will be.