Council tax bills in England and Wales could be set to rise at twice the rate of inflation.

A survey, by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance says the overall increase for an average band D property will be 6.4%, compared to inflation which is running at 2.7%.

In England the average band D household will see its council tax rise by �55 to �901- an increase of 6.5%. In Wales the rise will be �41 a year.

The findings come as the local authorities in England and Wales finalise their budgets for the coming financial year.

Overall the increase of 6.4% is up on last year's 6.1%.

The rise can be partly explained by local authorities directly funding police and fire brigade pensions.

And where the government has offered specific grants for areas such as education, these often have to be matched by local authority spending.

Councils in Scotland have already announced their council tax increase which will result in a 4.9% increase for an average band D householder.