LEADING councillors are set to give their backing to a 4.7 per cent rise in Bolton's council tax tonight.

Management and finance committee members meet to approve the town hall budget for the next financial year.

Their decision will then have to be rubber stamped by the full council on Wednesday.

A report presented to councillors will recommend that the council spends £243.4 million.

This will mean three per cent spending cuts of £3.2 million.The council tax increase will mean that most of Bolton's council tax payers who are in band A will have an increase of 50p a week.

The 4.7 per cent increase is in line with the Government's recommended figure and compares with 5.8 per cent for councils across Greater Manchester.

The budget will allow for an extra £5.6 million to go into Bolton's schools but it includes £3 million for the teachers' pay rise.

Cllr Bob Howarth, Bolton Council leader, said: "The additional investment in education will ensure that children in the borough will be given every affordable opportunity to develop their full potential.

"We have also agreed, where we can, to give priority to social services to enable them to continue to meet the changing needs of adults, children and their carers.

"To meet these priorities, we have had to make reductions of £3.2 million to other services but we have strived to ensure that the most disadvantaged are unaffected and that additional investment has taken place where it is most needed."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.