TAXPAYERS in County Durham are facing above-inflation rises in their council tax bills this year to offset a £12m equal pay claim from staff.

Membersof Durham County Council voted to ratify the authority's £500m budget for the coming year at an emergency meeting this week.

Following a £368.5m grant from central government, the authority is asking taxpayers to pay a 4.6 per cent increase in the amount they pay for county council services.

Council leader Ken Manton said that, while the increase would finance improved services in a growth programme worth nearly £10m, a significant part of the rise was being swallowed up by the £12m the authority was setting aside to deal with equal pay claims from staff.

The authority, like other councils across the country, has been involved in protracted negotiations with the trade unions to resolve an historic dispute over the grading of different posts, which the unions say discriminate against female employees such as school cooks in favour of traditional male posts such as road sweepers.

Coun Manton described the issue of equal pay as 'the elephant in the corner' and said the authority had taken the decision to deal with the issue now.

"We are at last dealing with equal pay," he said. "We are in the process of trying to settle out of court through negotiations with the trade unions and the workforce, but it means setting aside £12m for compensation this year and something in the order of £8m in future years. It may be causing a huge strain on our budget this year but at last we are tackling it head on."

Coun Manton also said the budget, the last before May's county council elections, included increases of £7.7m for health and social care, including the employment of more social workers and the building of extra care homes, £0.9m more for school renovation programmes and an additional £600,000m for recycling and waste schemes. He added: "This budget is about how we continue to provide excellent services and build on those excellent services."

Liberal Democrat leader Coun Nigel Martin said: "This isn't the council's budget. It is the Government's budget. We believe in local democracy and local choice and we aren't being given that choice. We should get rid of this iniquitous council tax and bring in a local income tax and the sooner the better."

Chester-le-Street District Council was set to vote on its council tax at a meeting on Thursday.

At the time The Advertiser went to press Durham City Council was expected to ratify a 2.75 per cent increase in its share of the final council tax bills in its meeting on Wednesday night.