Council tax bills will be sent out next month

People in Pembrokeshire will pay less council tax than anywhere else in Britain next year.

The county council is to put up the tax by just 3.5% for the coming financial year starting in April.

In the rest of south west Wales bills will rise by anything up to 10% - the Welsh average.

Neighbouring Ceredigion is increasing its charges by 2.5% - the smallest rise in Wales - but council tax payers in Pembrokeshire will still have the lower bills.

Residents living in band D properties will receive demands for �528 in April.

Pembrokeshire Council says it has kept its bills downs by "prudent financial management" but other authorities claim government funding arrangements favour rural areas.

Councillors in Swansea have approved a rise of 9.6% which they say is needed to invest in education, social services, road improvements and leisure facilities.

Carmarthenshire Council band D �689.71 Pembrokeshire Council band D �528.02 Neath Port Talbot Council band D �899.62 City and County of Swansea Council band D �721.12 Powys County Council band D �639.17 Totals exclude police and community council charges

Bills will go up by 5.9% in Carmarthenshire, 6.5% in Neath Port Talbot and 7.95% in Powys.

David Phillips, Swansea Council's cabinet member for finance, said the funding formula from central government worked against urban areas like Swansea and Cardiff - which received the lowest grant increases of all the 22 councils in Wales.

"While the National Assembly has provided extra funding, we have lost out due to things like the drop in population.

Despite this, we are committed to providing a high level of services for people," he added.

Councillor Phillips said Swansea had also lost out due to concessionary bus fares for pensioners, with a shortfall of �500,000 in government funding.

'Wooden spoon'

Pembrokeshire Council leader Maurice Hughes said, although it kept a tight grip of the purse strings, his authority still delivered good quality services.

"I have no problem in accepting the wooden spoon for having the lowest council tax in Wales," he said.

"We do not achieve these results by accident - it is done by careful, efficient and effective management of our resources.

"We accept that there are areas for improvement, any organisation that thinks it cannot get better, is doomed."

Carmarthenshire Council leader Meryl Gravell said: "I am disappointed in relation to the authority's settlement from the assembly, which is over �1million short of meeting inescapable costs."