THE Government has warned Halton Council that there should be no big hike in council tax after it was given a £4.3 million increase in funding for this year.

Halton will receive £91.875 million of Government funds for the next financial year compared with an £87.5 million settlement for this.

This represents a 4.9 per cent increase year-on-year and puts Halton in the top 25 gainers for 1999/00.

And Deputy PM John Prescott warned: "There is no excuse on the basis of this settlement for councils to inflict steep council tax rises on their local communities."

No-one at the Halton Council was available to comment.

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