WILTSHIRE continues to trail behind other local authorities following Monday's announcement by the Government on local government spending.

In the 2000/01 financial year the average funding per head of population in Wiltshire is £432.

This is £47 less than the average for shire counties of £479.

For next year 2001/02 the average Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) for a shire county is £712 but for Wiltshire the figure is £672 £40 less.

Wiltshire's SSA for 2001/02 is £288.6million, an increase of 4.5 per cent. Government funding and revenue from business rates is £193 million, a rise of 3.7 per cent.

The SSA is the amount the Government thinks counties should spend when the council tax is added to its Government funding and business rates.

Wiltshire's SSA for 2000/01 was £276 million. Government funding and business rates accounts for £186 million. For 2001/02 the Government says Wiltshire should spend £1.9 million more on education but £700,000 less on its Social Services, highways and fire service.

The county council is receiving £1.2million more in SSA than anticipated but £300,000 less than what it thought from the Government. With the increase in education spending it brings an extra £2.2million cost.

Next year's Council Tax is expected to rise by at least four per cent. For a Band D property the county council's share of the Council Tax this year is £641.53. If the bill rose by five per cent that would be an extra £32.