The local government minister Hilary Armstrong is "dismayed" that council tax increases will average 6.4 per cent in 2001-02, after rising by 6.1 per cent last year.

However, she added that tax levels were mainly a matter for councils who would be accountable to local voters for their policies.

Sir Jeremy Beecham of the Local Government Association said the increase was a result of factors that councils had little control over, such as the nationally-decided teachers' pay agreement.