THE leader of Herefordshire Council has defended a council tax rise of nearly 10.5%.

The proposal, which was first revealed in the Hereford Times earlier this month, will be debated by Cabinet today (Thursday).

During a briefing this week, Councillor Roger Phillips said the changing characteristics of Herefordshire dictated the need for such a rise.

"If we were to provide the same amount of services at the same standard, then we could increase council tax at the level of inflation," he said. "But this is not possible as things regularly change.

"For example, we are getting more elderly people into the county, our percentage of pupils is growing in the secondary schools as opposed to primary, which is more expensive, and waste is going up by 4% a year," he added.

The county's treasurer, Ian Hyson, also explained why the 10.4% increase was needed.

"Council tax rises are a national phenomenon and are not unique to Hereford," he said.

"And our case is not helped by the make-up of this sparsely populated county, which forces us to spend more on home-care services, rubbish collection, school transport and the highways."

Coun Phillips said many avenues had been examined to save money, but it was far from easy.

"We have generated about £300,000 by raising council tax on second homes to the maximum allowed amount of 90%," he explained.

"But when it comes to saving money, our hands are often tied because, in many of the bigger areas like education and social services, government requirements and an increasing elderly population leave us with limited scope for budget reductions."

On a more positive note, My Hyson said some people could find themselves paying less council tax because they did not realise that concessions were available to them.

"Low wage earners do not have to pay the full amount and many pensioners with less than £16,000 of savings may receive benefits too," he said.

"They can call the local benefits advice line on 01432 260333 for more guidance."

If Herefordshire Council cabinet rubber stamps the proposals today (Thursday), only full council can prevent the 10.4% increase when it meets on Friday, March 5.