CORNWALL COUNCIL'S share of council tax bills will be frozen for the coming year after it agreed to accept a Government grant.

Members met on Tuesday to discuss the year's budget which included the recommendation that the council accept a government grant worth the equivalent of a 2.5 per cent tax rise – around £6 million – and freeze bills for the coming year.

The council voted in favour by 94 votes to 12, with six abstentions – yet some councillors still had reservations about accepting the offer.

Cabinet member Julian German (Independent) was one of those who voted against the freeze, while fellow Cabinet member Neil Burden (Independent) abstained.

The grant is a one-off so will have to be made up in future years, and some councillors said they were concerned that it could lead to services being cut or larger council tax rises in future.

Previous reports from officers suggested there could be a £6 million shortfall which would result in services having to be cut.

However, Jim Currie, the Cabinet member for resources, told councillors that this might not happen. He said that, under current projections, the budget plans for 2012-13 would produce a surplus of £7.4 million.

He said: "That is a crucial figure as, if we decide to take up the council tax grant from the Government, then this figure will be enough to cover that for 2013-14. Without it I think we would struggle."

Mr Currie said that he felt that the council had shown "financial prudence" with its budget and said that the early choices made about what savings could be made had left it in a good position.

He told the Cabinet that 80 per cent of the £87 million in savings which had been expected to be made in the current financial year had been achieved by December, and he expected the full savings to be realised. He said that something which had looked "impossible" had been managed thanks to hard work by council staff.

Council leader Alec Robertson commended the budget to the council saying: "We have been able to set this year's budget without having to make any further savings than those already planned.

"Unlike other councils we have not had to cut libraries or leisure services. We want to invest in growth projects that will have a positive impact on the lives of our residents."

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Alex Folkes accused Mr Robertson of "making blanket statements which aren't true" and highlighted that library opening hours had been cut and leisure services funding had been reduced in Camelford, Bude and Penzance.

Mr Robertson accepted that there had been "reductions" but claimed that those were not the same as cuts.