Council leader Coun Mike BawdenSWINDON residents are set to face a council tax rise of just three per cent over last year, council bosses have revealed.

But the move means nearly all of the planned £10m of cuts will go ahead at the council.

The three per cent rise which means £28 extra for an average band D house will be put forward by the council's Conservative cabinet tonight.

It will then have to be approved by full council on February 21 but a Conservative majority means it is likely to go through.

Council leader Coun Mike Bawden said: "When we were preparing for last year's elections people made it very clear to us that they were fed up with big council tax rises.

"We pledged to keep council tax low if we got into power. We have delivered on this promise with an increase of just three per cent."

The council will reinstate the initially-threatened Home Start budget of £30,000.

It also plans to set the Artscape budget at £50,000 but most other cuts will go ahead.

These include reducing the amount given in grants to community groups and closing a family centre.

But Coun Nick Martin, cabinet member for finance, defended the savings.

"We set the finance team a criteria not to damage public services," he said.

"We wanted to deliver the same quality and hopefully better. But we had to do that more economically.

"In September we began looking for efficiency savings.

"By December we had come up with £7m worth of efficiency savings and £3m worth of economies.

"A typical exercise was to take out back office jobs and middle management jobs that were being duplicated.

"This will benefit pensioners, people on a fixed income and people on low incomes."

Isabel Field