THE leader of Swindon Council has promised the Government that "there will be no repeat" of the hefty tax rises of the last two years.

Minister of State for Local Government Nick Raynsford had written to Coun Mike Bawden (Con, Old Town and Lawns), warning him that the Government was prepared to intervene should Swindon Council impose a double-figure percentage council tax rise.

In a reply to the minister, Coun Bawden has pledged that his administration is "determined to drive this council out of failure."

The story of Mr Raynsford's "we are watching you" warning letter appeared in Friday's Evening Advertiser.

Now Coun Bawden has guaranteed delivering "an acceptable level of council tax rise to the residents of Swindon."

He continued: "Labour's 32 per cent rise in the last two years was clearly unacceptable."

But he made it clear to the minister that the Government concern that Swindon was poised to inflict a 10.9 per cent council tax increase on its residents was "incorrect".

He pointed out that the 10.9 figure came from the council officers' original estimates, equating to an increase net spend of £12.4m, to include an extra £4.2m for schools and an additional £4.8m for Social Services.

"The council currently has a zero-rated Social Services department and needs to deliver considerable improvements in this area," he further told Mr Raynsford.

"We have only just begun to crawl our way out of inspection failures in education.

"We have identified various options for potential budget reductions and have gone out to consultation on three possible levels of increase in council tax five, 7.5 and 10 per cent."

Senior Labour councillor Derique Montaut (Moredon) believed that mistakes had been made in the past through a too ready acceptance of officers' recommendations.

"We may have ended up looking rather arrogant, although that was never the intention," he said.

"Quite a number of us have put up our hands and said, 'Yes, mistakes were made.'

"I hope people will respect us for that."

Michael Litchfield