Council confirms tax freeze plans

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A council tax freeze has been confirmed by the ruling administration in the Scottish Borders.

The Tory, Lib Dem and independent coalition has outlined its budget for 2008/09 - which meets the Scottish Government's nationwide tax target.

It means the bill for a band D property in the region should remain fixed at Â£1,084 for the year ahead.

The detailed budget plan has to be ratified at a meeting of the full council on 14 February.

Council leader David Parker said it had not been easy to achieve the freeze in council tax.

'Prudent budget'

"The settlement we received from the Scottish Government is challenging and means that we had difficult choices to make," he said.

"This is a prudent, affordable, sustainable budget."

Depute leader Neil Calvert stressed that the budget had not meant having to dip into reserves.

"The administration is sure that this budget will deliver some real solutions and Borders residents will see the benefits," he said.

Fellow depute leader Alex Nicol said he hoped the plans would "maintain and improve" services while "delivering the best possible value for money".