A LEADING county councillor has accused Worcester MP Mike Foster of not doing enough to win the authority a fair Government funding settlement.

Coun Liz Eyre, Worcestershire County Council's cabinet member for social services, said she was amazed to hear the Labour MP had merely advised headteachers to write to ministers pleading their case for extra funding.

"I felt you should have really rolled your sleeves up," she said in a letter to Mr Foster.

"We are in the very difficult position of having to approve a double digit council tax rise because of a lousy settlement."

Coun Eyre said the people of Worcestershire could not afford to have services cut when standards in schools were not improving and services for older people, vulnerable children and young people needed to be strengthened.

She also complained about the unfairness of resource equalisation and area cost adjustment, factors that lead to some areas of the country getting a higher settlement than others.

Coun Eyre said these adjustments had cost the county's taxpayers more than £18m.

"I am acutely aware of the real hardship the council tax increase will have on low-income families and the elderly struggling with ever lower returns on their savings," she said.

"I urge you to put party differences aside and build on the sterling work of the county's Conservative cabinet member for resources, Coun Adrian Hardman, to get across to Ministers the unfairness of this settlement so we do not have a repeat next year."

The county council has approved a 13 per cent increase to its precept, which adds a further £95 a year on to a band D property - taking the county's precept from £727 to £822.

Worcester City Council cabinet has voted to approve a 9.5 per cent increase, which would see £11.36 put on a band D property.

Mr Foster said he had led a delegation from Worcestershire to meet Local Government Minister Chris Leslie last year.

"Perhaps Liz Eyre should talk to her colleagues," he said.

"I had a letter from Coun Hardman thanking me for my work.

"The increase in spending on local authorities under this Government has been massive compared to the position under the Conservative Government.

"Perhaps Liz Eyre is not as well-informed as she needs to be."