BURY residents face a huge rise in council tax of 11.7 per cent. If approved, the inflation-busting hike will be the biggest increase imposed by the council since the tax began.

Bills for people living in Band A houses would rise by around £75 to £722, and by £113 to £1,083 for Band D homes.

The council is already having to make cuts to balance the budget: department heads, particularly in social services, have been told there is no new money for a range of vital measures.

Large increases in the council's insurance costs, plus the amount that the fire and police services charge, are being partially blamed for the anticipated hike.

Councillors at Wednesday's executive (Feb 19) declined to recommend a specific tax rise and this will now be unveiled at the full council meeting next Wednesday (Feb 26).

But the figures show that, if Bury puts up the council tax by the Government's recommended 6.2 per cent, it will be left with a shortfall of £3.5 million. Towards this, bosses have found savings of £2.3 million, including £1 million from the emergency pot.

This still leaves them £1.2 million short. Unless more cuts are found, it means the council tax increase goes up to 8.5 per cent.

On top of that, a further 3.2 per cent is added to bills to pay for the police and fire brigade. The police are charging councils 33 per cent more this year, to pay for nearly 600 extra officers across Greater Manchester. The fire service precept, meanwhile, has gone up by 23 per cent.

Members cite "external factors" for adding to budget pressures, such as inflation, pay awards, and the impending increase in National Insurance.

A major problem is a huge increase in the amount Bury has to pay for insurance which has been tripled to £4.5 million. Finance bosses are to tender for another contract.

Claims against the council have gone up from 400 in 1998 to around 650.

And the amount the council has had to settle has shot up from £1.2 million to £2.6 million.

The increase is being blamed partly on "litigation culture" and insurance companies themselves feeling the pinch.

To reduce highways claims, the council is beefing up its inspection regime, identifying accident "hot spots", and drawing up a new repairs policy.

Coun Wayne Campbell, executive member for resource, said: "We are not a soft touch, and we will do anything we can to investigate claims and work with other councils and the police to minimise fraudulent claims."

Council leader John Byrne told the executive that, even if Bury imposed such a large increase, Bury would still have the second lowest council tax in Greater Manchester.