IN the run up to Christmas senior council leaders are falling over themselves to promise the early present of lower Council Tax rises next year.

Worcestershire and Gloucestershire county councils are both promising increases below seven per cent and Malvern Hills District Council less than this.

Malvern Town Council is even planning to cut its tax demand by 7.5 per cent, although having admitted the authority has had a history of collecting money and not spending it, this is the least the new administration could be seen to do.

Only West Mercia Police seem to be warning again of another big tax rise.

Before we get too carried away by pre-Christmas spirit, we should remember (how could we forget) that Council Tax has increased by around 70 per cent since 1997. Whether further increases so far above the rate of inflation are really justified or, more importantly, will be acceptable to an increasingly angry taxpayer remains to be seen.

While local councillors could certainly be a lot braver in taking the difficult decisions needed to put their own houses in order, the Government this week, effectively, put its hand up to being in a large part to blame for the double digit Council Tax rises of recent years.

So concerned is it about a taxpayers revolt, that Gordon Brown surprised MPs in his Pre-Budget report by announcing an additional £340 million for local councils in England, on top of the £420 million increase to the council grant already announced this month.

Not a cheap solution but one that has always been in the Government's hands.