COUNCIL tax bills are set to rise by almost £60 a year for a Band D home as Reading Borough Council seeks to bridge the gap in its shrinking budget.

The leader of the authority said they did not want to pass the financial burden on to residents but had no other options after they were asked to make a further £5m of savings just before Christmas.

Total bills are planned to rise by 3.99 per cent towards council services as well as increases expected on behalf of the police and fire service of 1.99 per cent each.

For a Band D property the total annual cost would be £1,648.42 - up £59.06 on last year.

It is estimated the move will draw in an extra £2.8m into the council's coffers but leader Councillor Jo Lovelock described it as a "drop in the ocean" compared to what is needed.

By 2018/19 a total of £51m needs to cut from the authority's spending, not including the almost £65m which has been chopped since 2011.

Cllr Lovelock said: "It is regrettable, we do not like putting up council tax but if we don't then we have to find an extra £2.8m from somewhere else on top of the savings we have already made."

She added: "George Osborne is hoping this adult social care precept will somehow sort care of the elderly and those with disabilities but it will not - it's a drop in the ocean."

In the UK councils can only raise tax locally by a maximum of 1.99 per cent without holding a referendum seeking resident approval to charge more.

On top of this the chancellor also announced in his spending review that local authorities would have the option of raising that by a further two per cent to help meet the increasing costs associated with adult social care.

The combined total of the council tax rise and the new ring-fenced levy are estimated at £2.8m.

Convention will see the proposals rubber stamped at the next policy committee on February 15 ahead of the full council meeting the following week when all members will discuss the plan and make a final decision.

The planned totals for 2016/17 in each band are as follows:

Band A - £1,098.95

Band B - £1,282.11

Band C - £1,485.27

Band D - £1,648.42

Band E - £2,014.73

Band F - £2,381.05

Band G - £2,747.37

Band H - £3,296.84