NOON UPDATE: Cornwall Council members have carried the recommendation that the Government's council tax freeze grant be accepted.

EARLIER: A zero per cent rise in Cornish council tax bills looks likely to be set in stone today at a crunch meeting of councillors.

At its annual budget setting, members of Cornwall Council are expected to rubber stamp the acceptance of a controversial Government grant which will keep council tax bills stable for another year.

The financial plans also contain further good news for residents in a time of austerity, with extra cash found to support bus services and keep open public toilets, both of which had been threatened with swingeing cuts.

Jeremy Rowe, leader of the Liberal Democrats, the main opposition group on the council, declined to say ahead of the meeting whether his party would be supporting it wholeheartedly.

He said the group would be holding a meeting before the budget was put to the council, but added: "I'm pleased that money has been found to support the bus routes and protect public toilets.

"This is something that the Lib Dems were concerned about last year and called for when the budget was being set."

Cornwall Council's budget next year is likely to be set at £516 million, which will hold council tax for 2012/13 for an average Band D property at the current level of £1,244.

This has been achieved after Cornwall Council, along with many of the authorities in the Westcountry, agreed to take up the Government's offer of the equivalent of a 2.5 per cent council tax rise if they freeze bills in April.

The Government says a council tax freeze saves an average of £72 for a band D property each year it is in place.

The one-off incentive comes on the heels of a previous offer from the Government last year to freeze bills, which all authorities took up.

Concerns have been expressed that the absence of a similar cushion next year will cause council tax bills to rocket.

The Lib Dems supported accepting the offer and Mr Rowe said he believed it would be best for council tax payers in the long run.

"I don't think taking the grant will mean bills will go up next year because I think Cornwall Council has good levels of reserves," he said. The authority remains on course with its four-year plan of making £170 million worth of cuts.

However, this year the authority's budget includes provision to put another £4 million in the adult care and support budget.

A sum of £700,000 will also be built into the budget to provide funding for a new local educational maintenance allowance which, it is hoped, will encourage young Cornish residents to stay on at college.

A further £2.4 million has been found to protect threatened rural bus services.

Tory Cornwall Council leader Alec Robertson said the budget was about "growth and not cuts".

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