Devon pensioners have led protests against council tax rises

Brian Greenslade, leader of Devon County Council, called the government's latest spending settlements for local authorities a "shabby blow to Devon".

He said most of the 4.2% rise would be swallowed up by government demands for a big increase in spending on schools.

And he warned there could be another double-figure council tax rise - following the 18% rise this year.

There is a limit to what people can afford to pay Brian Greenslade

He said: "We are very conscious of the affects of council tax rises on local people, particularly in a county like Devon where there are a lot of people on fixed incomes, like pensioners.

"So I think we shall be looking at an increase in council tax and cuts in services, but there is a limit to what people can afford to pay."

Mr Greenslade said that if the council tax was kept down to the rate of inflation, the council would have to make �22m of cuts to services.

Police encouraged

He said: "I don't think the rise will be as big as this year, but we will have to look at the impact on our spending.

"We have a grant increase of �15m next year, but the government is telling us that we have to pass on �14.2m to our schools.

"We have no objection to the schools getting the extra money, but that leaves just �800,000 to cover increased costs in all our other services."

In Torbay there is a provisional government grant increase of 5.9%, which the council says will lead to a large increase in council tax.

Devon and Cornwall Police Authority said it was encouraged with its increase of 3.25%, although it was still not enough.

In Plymouth the provisional increase is 3.7%. A statement from the city council said more work needed to be done to determine the effect on services and tax levels.