EXTRA funding for social services in Worcestershire has been approved, even though Council Tax will be lower than first predicted.

The county council is set to ask the average household for £857.03 to pay for its work, a rise of 3.94 per cent compared to last year.

The figure is below the 4.25 per cent rise that councillors said in December they would implement - the reduction comes after district councils returned higher than expected predictions on how many bills will be returned.

A total of £500,000 more will be put into social services, with an extra £100,000 going into schools and education, taking the total spending to £124m and £275m.

The additional funds have been found in reserves and the larger tax collection pot.

"This is a growth budget that will strengthen provision of services but it is also a prudent budget," council leader Coun George Lord told his cabinet yesterday.

Leader of the opposition Labour group, Coun Peter Pinfield, was pleased that his lobbying for extra social services cash had paid off.

"For the people of Worcestershire to have another half a million pounds is really good news, especially for the elderly," he added.

But Coun Tom Wells (pictured) was unhappy that a review into the cost of outside school-hours music tuition - which had risen to £38 an hour - had not been completed.

He was concerned that any recommendations about the music service requiring more cash would not be backed in this budget because of the delay.

Coun Andy Roberts, the cabinet member for education, said the cost had not actually risen to £38 but did not reveal the correct figure.

The budget will be approved by the council on Thursday, February 17.