HOUSEHOLDS will finally get the news they were waiting for tonight when council tax rates are finalised for Worcester.

The Worcester News first reported two days before Christmas how local authority bosses were considering a modest council tax increase of 2.5 per cent this year - well below the national average of four per cent.

It would mean the average Band D household forking out £140.96 for its Worcester city council tax compared to £137.52 last year.

The cabinet announced its proposal last December by saying the authority would make strenuous efforts to ensure council tax rises are pegged at 2.5 per cent in 2007 too.

That would mean the average household has to pay £144 next year at band D.

The authority has been given a 4.3 per cent increase in government funding this year - an extra £314,000 - allowing it to keep tax rises down.

The matter will be passed before full council tonight for its approval before the rise is confirmed.

The city council sets 11 per cent of the overall tax bill that drops through the door.

Worcestershire County Council - which sets 71 per cent of the bill - has confirmed its tax will rise by five per cent.