Council tax is set to soar in Brighton and Hove by almost 11 per cent despite big cuts in services.

Once again, the rise for householders will be several times the rate of inflation.

It will be easy for council taxpayers and the public to blame the city council for this large rise but the authority is not entirely to blame.

It's true that some unnecessary bureaucracy has led to charges being higher than they should be.

There are still reforms that could be made which should be more productive.

But the three main reasons for overspending, which include waste collection, social care and homelessness, were largely outside the council's control.

What happened was that the Government, whose grant covers a great deal of council spending, did not help Brighton and Hove out of its troubles.

The settlement last year was disappointing and took little account of the authority's special financial circumstances.

This is also part of a general trend by the Government to be tough on councils which will result in other rises.

While Labour has promised no income tax increases, it is imposing what is a sneaky form of tax, hoping people won't notice. We have and we know who is to blame.