Council Tax payers will have to fork out an average of £40 a year extra after Bradford councillors gave the go-ahead last night to a 6.3 per cent rise.

But opposition councillors said the controlling Labour group's inflation-busting budget was full of "damaging cuts".

Conservative group leader Margaret Eaton said the Council was "taxing people's patience as well as their pockets".

Despite the higher Council Tax bills, the Council will also make £1.9 million savings, with the biggest cuts coming in the social services budget (£562,000) and policy and resources (£409,000). The moves come after it failed to receive the financial settlement expected from the Government.

But Council leader Councillor Ian Greenwood described the budget as "prudent, practical and realistic", adding: "We have recognised the problems that we have and within the existing financial constraints we have dealt with them.

"We believe we have set the Council Tax at a level which will be acceptable to the people of Bradford."

Councillor Greenwood said there had been a slight fall in the district's population and pupil numbers as more children went to school in neighbouring authorities. He said that after adjustments the Council Tax increase would give an actual bill about 6.1 per cent higher than last year.

The Council has set up a contingency reserve of £3 million to deal with one-off costs associated with the schools review and £500,000 was set aside for community projects, he went on.

But Councillor Eaton said: "We are seeing a Labour group pushing through very real, very damaging and very divisive cuts in education and social services."

Liberal Democrats accused the Labour group of underfunding schools and failing to tackle under-achievement. Councillor David Ward said: "Labour councillors have again and again used every excuse under the sun to hide their betrayal of Bradford's schools."

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