COUNCIL TAX bills will go up by an average of 1.9% this year, Scotland’s municipal leaders said last night.

The rise is below inflation and the lowest since council tax was introduced in the 1990s, said the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA).

The figure emerged after most of Scotland’s councils met yesterday, less than three months before the local elections, to set tax levels for the coming year.

The council tax in Fife is to rise by a below-inflation 2.5%, equivalent to 52p a week for the average Band D house.

The ruling Labour administration’s budget proposal for 2007-08, which will also mean rent rises averaging 4.6% (£2.07) for council house tenants, was the clear winner at a meeting of Fife Council, polling more votes than those cast for the options from the Liberal Democrats, SNP and Independents put together.

Perth and Kinross Council set an increase of 1.9%—1% to go towards building four secondary schools and two primaries and the administration will also provide £4 million to carers.

Council tax bills in Angus have been frozen, a move which is expected to see the authority keep its place as having one of the lowest rates in Scotland.

In Dundee council tax payers will have to wait to find out what their bills will be.

Dundee City Council has decided to wait until February 20 to hold the meetings which will culminate in the new revenue budget and council tax.

With work still being done on the budget, the delay will mean the council knows what level of council tax almost all the other local authorities have set before it has to declare its own figure.

On CoSLA figures, the average Scottish Band D bill will go up from £1129 to £1151. But water and sewerage charges have to be added to these.

Scottish Water said household bills would increase by 3.17%, 0.5% below retail price inflation, making the average household bill £296.57.

“This signals a period of stability in water and waste water bills at the same time as Scottish Water is delivering one of the largest investment programmes per customer ever undertaken in the water industry in Britain,” it said.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT minister Tom McCabe said he was “delighted” at the councils’ efforts to minimise increases.

“Councils have enjoyed unprecedented rises in funding since devolution as the grant to local government has increased by almost 58% since 1999,” said the minister.

“Local authorities in Scotland will have well over £17 billion to spend on services this year.

“I have repeatedly urged Scottish local authorities to use these resources to exercise downward pressure on their council tax levels.”

The minister went on, “I am delighted councils have risen to the challenge and responded.

“The average council tax rise in 2006-07 was the lowest since devolution.

“Most local authorities in Scotland have now confirmed their council tax levels for next year will be even lower.”

CoSLA finance spokes-man John Pentland said, “Make no mistake this is a major win for CoSLA.

“We have delivered a real and meaningful result for Scotland’s council tax payers that they will feel in terms of the pound in their pocket.

“The fact that councils have managed to come in with the lowest ever council tax rise comes about as a direct result of the lobbying campaign undertaken by CoSLA to convince the finance minister that the finance settlement for local government was not good enough.”

First Minister Jack McConnell and SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon clashed over council tax yesterday in Holyrood.

Ms Sturgeon accused him of failing to deliver on a pledge to make the council tax fairer, because this could not be done.

“It’s gone up by 60%, its inherently unfair, and it’s not based on the ability to pay,” said Ms Sturgeon, who told MSPs that Help the Aged estimated council tax accounted for 13% of the average pensioner income.

But Mr McConnell accused the SNP of having “a £1 billion black hole” in its local government finance policy.

“They make promises they can’t possibly keep, they will say anything to try and win votes, but increasingly they are being exposed for that,” he told MSPs.