FEARS that council tax will rise by 10 per cent have been downplayed by Worcestershire financial experts - provided the Government gets its sums right.

Adrian Hardman, the county council's cabinet member for finance, said concerns of a £100 rise raised by the Local Government Association (LGA) were not expected in the county.

However, he said the rise could easily top this figure if Westminster did not handle the situation carefully.

"The LGA's 10 per cent looks high to me for Worcestershire, as some of the rise will be blunted by our drive to cut waste and be more efficient," he said.

"However, if the Government gets its figures wrong there is a chance ours will be in this area or higher.

"There are too many options still on the table to be able to give a clear idea of the scale of the rise.

"But I am worried that Government mishandling of finance could lead us into another capping row later

in the year, or to service reductions."

But Coun Hardman did agree with the LGA over claims the Government is making demands on local authorities without giving them the cash to deliver.

"In Worcestershire we face pressures from rising costs of legislative and policy demands in areas such as children's service, elderly and adult services and waste management," he said.

"The Government has introduced new standards without providing an equivalent level of funding.

"The Government is currently looking to reform local government grant distribution. It is vital we do well or hold our own, since any loss of funding would mean either service cuts or large council tax rises."

Worcester City Council has raised similar concerns after ministers made a pre-election pledge to give all pensioners free bus travel - but the Government has not yet decided how much of the cost of the scheme it will fund.

how much is 10 per cent more?

Worcester

Band bill now Plus10%

A £797.85 £877.63

B £930.82 £1023.90

C £1,063.79 £1,170.16

D £1,196.77 £1,316.44 E£1,462.72 £1,608.99 F £1,728.67 £1,901.53

G £1,994.62 £2,194.08

H £2,393.54 £2,632.89

Herefordshire

Band bill now Plus 10%

A £819.09 £900.99

B £955.60 £1,051.16

C £1,092.12 £1,201.33

D £1,228.63 £1,351.49

E £1,501.66 £1,651.82

F £1,774.69 £1,952.15

G £2,047.72 £2,252.49

H £2,457.26 £2,702.98