COUNCIL Tax in St Helens is to go up by 5.75 per cent after the local authority agreed what it described as a "no cuts budget which safeguards vital services". But in what she describes as a difficult budget, Council Leader Marie Rimmer said that lack of government funding had led to the increase.

Now the biggest group of Council Tax payers in the town, those in Band A, will pay 74p a week more than last year, which includes precepts to the police, fire and civil defence authorities.

Councillor Rimmer called the budget "one which meets the needs of the people of St Helens". And she added: "By imposing a mix of savings, we have been able to maintain key services and balance the books enabling the council to deliver its pledge to providing quality services".

Councillor Rimmer said that lack of Government funding had forced the authority to increase its Council Tax. The bulk of the £177.4 million budget -- £127 million -- comes from the Government.

She said: "The Government assumed that councils would be putting up bills by five per cent. However, that is before authorities like St Helens have to cope with a £1.67 million loss in Government grant this year".

She said that because of the complicated way in which councils are funded, authorities like St Helens had lost millions over the past few years. Factors such as the number of ethnic groups in a town, tourists and population dictate funding, while vital factors such as social deprivation and unemployment do not affect the distribution of general grant.

Councillor Rimmer stressed that she would be continuing the fight for more equality in the way the Government funds local authorities and that the battle to win a fairer share of grant for the borough would go on.

And she added that was "extremely disappointed" that a promised review of the funding process had been shelved for two years by the Government placing financial burden on councils like St Helens.

The bulk of the new budget will be spent as follows

Education £95.3 million.

Social services £42.4 million.

Highways and the environment £20 million.

The council has also been successful in securing an additional £19.1 million in Government funding which is being targeted at specific areas, such as:

£10 million for education including extra provision for three-year-olds.

£1.9 million to tackle areas of deprivation

£2million on social services including extra money for drug initiatives, carers and mental health improvements.

In fact, much of the budget is tailored to the responses of the town's 'Peoples Panel' to ensure that services meet the needs of the very people who use them. Charges would also be going up for some services by five per cent but many of these would be covered by extra benefits. Despite the increase, charges for local services are still among the most competitive in the North West.

To help keep this year's increase to a minimum the council has also used £2.7 million from balances.

And to ensure that schools continue to achieve good educational standards the council has agreed to fully fund this year's teachers' pay award rather than pass on the increase to the schools themselves. This means that school budgets can be fully utilised to further build on the substantial improvements in education shown during the past few years.

Councillor Rimmer said: "We have been able to limit the increase to 5.75 per cent by saving £3.3 million by strong financial control. In fact, our good management techniques recently earned praise in a Government-led review which highlighted the council as having good working practices".