POLITICAL leaders at Cumbria County Council have pushed through a budget with a 4.3 per cent increase in its share of the council tax for the year ahead.

Rex Toft, leader of the ruling Conservative/Lib Dem alliance, said despite the low headline figure the county had again been short changed by its central government settlement.

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Mr Toft said: "As always with this duplicitous government they have engaged in various tricks to give the impression that their support for local authorities is better than it is."

CCC got a 5.5 per cent increase on last's year government grant - 19th out of the 34 English counties.

At 4.3 per cent, or £38 per year for a band B household, the county council's increase looks set to be the second lowest in the country, only Suffolk is expected to do better at 3.9 per cent.

But Stewart Young, leader of the Labour opposition, said the government settlement was "very generous". Mr Young said CCC bills would be too high at 4.3 per cent and that, had the council stuck to government spending targets the increase could have been as little as 1.8 per cent.

Halfway through three hours of budget discussions, the ruling alliance called for an early vote while main members were still waiting to speak.

The Labour opposition, backed by six rebel voters from the alliance, voted the motion down.

But at the end of the debate voting went along party lines with the Con/Lib Dem alliance budget passed by 42 votes to 36.

South Lakeland District Council and parish and town councils are set to increase their shares of the council tax by 3.9 per cent.

Cumbria Police Authority is due to meet on February 26 - only then will householders know by how much their bills will rise for 2004/5.

There are well founded fears that the Police Authority is gearing up to impose double figure percentage increases, perhaps up to 27 per cent, in its share of the overall council tax.

However, the authority plans to spend its extra cash putting more bobbies on the beat. Last year 70 new officers were hired; if the authority is to meet its target of having 300 officers over the next four years bills will have to rise significantly.

The authority has recently conducted a MORI phone poll of households in the county and is confident the public will gladly pay the extra for more community policing.

l Ministers are to be quizzed over Cumbria's future economic prosperity at a special summit in April.

Figures released by the National Office of Statistics show that Cumbria is getting poorer.

In 1995 the county was above average for the North of England in a key economic prosperity table. In 2001, however, the county had dropped into the bottom five in the country.

The North West Regional Development Agency has called a special summit on April 2 at the Theatre by the Lake, in Keswick, to address the county's problems. Speakers will include Minister for the Regions, Jacqui Smith.