Significant council tax increases have done little to improve local services, according to the spending watchdog.

The Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) into local authorities by the Audit Commission found no link between improvements in performance and the increases levied.

The commission also said that its league tables had revealed standards had improved across the board since the assessment system was introduced last year.

Overall, 26 out of 150 single tier and county councils had improved by at least one category.

Performance in nine authorities had worsened. "In many other cases improvement has taken place but it has not yet been sufficient for councils to increase category," said the Audit Commission.

"Improvement has taken place across the country and across different types of council."

Key improvements were in social services for younger and older people.

The biggest impact has been in education, social care for adults, housing and housing benefits.

Audit Commission chairman James Strachan said the CPA had become an effective tool to track and drive improvement.

"CPA is not just about ranking. It aims to provide councils with vital information and recommendations to help them improve," he said.

"Local people can make better informed decisions because they have an annually updated picture of their councils' performance. All councils - regardless of ranking - should focus on where they can do better."

But the Liberal Democrats said parts of the report were arbitrary and flawed.

"Ministers promised to remove this level of regulation, targets and interference, but once again backed down on a promise to local government," said Edward Davey, the party's local government spokesman.

"Some of these figures are so arbitrary and flawed that there will be councils that will justifiably feel hard done by. The government cannot expect councils or council taxpayers to take their promises seriously when they keep moving the goalposts."