AN urgent meeting with Ministers is being sought by MP Ian Liddell-Grainger after the Government’s refusal to allow Somerset Council to increase its share of council tax by 10 per cent.

Mr Liddell-Grainger will also meet Liberal Democrat council leader Cllr Bill Revans next week to discuss the next stages in extricating the council from its financial crisis.

The council had asked for permission to double the five per cent increase which is capped by legislation to help put the unitary authority’s finances back on track.

Mr Liddell-Grainger represents West Somerset and will be the Conservative candidate at the General Election in a new constituency covering parishes around Wellington and the Culm Valley.

The Government said it wanted to protect local taxpayers from ‘excessive’ council tax increases.

It said local authorities should consider the way general increases in the cost of living had already impacted households.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said he was disappointed, although not completely surprised, by the announcement.

He said: “I know the Government wants to do whatever it can to ease financial pressures on families, but on the other hand it still expects local authorities to continue providing services - and the cost of doing so has risen horrifically.

“This announcement really has narrowed the council’s options for reducing its budget deficit and it is going to increase the likelihood of some really savage cuts in service provision which will affect everybody in the county.

“The council has already had to make some harsh decisions, such as declaring as many as 1,000 redundancies.

“But, with its ability to raise income so restricted, it is difficult to see how it can continue functioning in a number of key areas.

“I shall be doing whatever I can to bring home to the Government, Somerset Council’s particular problems in running a largely rural and sparsely-populated county.

“That it costs more to provide such services to rural areas has been a recognised fact for a very long time and I shall be urging the Government to take factors such as this into account.”