COUNCIL tax contributions to fund Wiltshire County Council will go up by 60p a week after councillors approved a £409.6m budget for the next financial year.

This year the county council is focusing on education, which will see a 7.8 per cent increase in primary school budgets and a 6.1 per cent increase in secondary school budgets.

There will be a £2.5m increase in the children and families budget to pay for the increasing costs of looking after young people in council care and children with special and complex needs.

An extra £2.4m will help pay for an increase in the demand for adult care services while an extra £1m is being allocated to help improve the condition of minor roads.

Another of the council's main targets is to increase the amount of rubbish recycled from 27.5 per cent to 33 per cent and £0.7m will be set aside to meet the targets.

Leader of the county council, Jane Scott, said: "I am pleased that we as a county council have been able to set a council tax that is well under the Government's target of five per cent while maintaining some services and improving others."

In addition to spending on the front line services, the council will invest £2.8m in improving their computer infrastructure and back office functions.

A further million will be injected into the Invest to Save fun and a further £1.3m will be put into the county council's balances.

The final council tax bill, including contributions to the fire and police authorities, town or parish councils and West Wiltshire District Council will be set by the district council within the next month.