STEEP Council Tax increases coupled with cuts to services, including policing, could be rolled out across the region following a Government funding shake-up, reports Victoria Clark.

Cumbria County Council and South Lakeland District Council have both warned reforms in the way grants are allocated to local authorities could hit taxpayers hard, with possible funding cuts also affecting services.

Police claim the new formula could cost the county's police coffers at least £1.5 million and have already joined forces with 14 other rural police forces to lobby Government.

The criticisms form part of the region's response to proposed changes to the Standard Spending Assessment - an assessment of how much each individual local and police authority should be spending on services each year, including spending funded by Council Tax.

The SSA is used by Government to calculate the Revenue Support Grant - a grant from the Office of Deputy Prime Minister towards the cost of Local and Police Authority services.

From next April the Government plans to replace the SSA system.

Alan Madin, CCC's deputy director of finance and central services, said in the worst case scenario, the council - which claims the lion's share of local Council Tax payments - would lose around £17million of its grant, whereas at best it could gain nearly £9million.

He said: "Clearly the worst case would be very worrying because the loss of that sort of level of spending within the county would translate into a Council Tax increase that would be to all intents and purposes off the scale."

SLDC' s Cabinet was advised the move could have significant implications for the future funding of services and Council Tax levels, with the potential impact ranging from a £1million gain to a £2.3million loss.

Cumbria chief constable Michael Baxter told Cumbria Police Authority that if the force received the cuts he was expecting, it could have an impact on the number of officers available for duty, with the constabulary looking for Council Tax increases to plug the funding shortfall.

CCC leader and police authority member Rex Toft said proposals could see metropolitan areas eat into Cumbria's share of the national funding cake.

"If more resources are needed in London and the cities for policing, that funding should come out of general taxation and not at the expense of the rural areas," he said.

A Government spokesperson said consultation into the review had ended on Monday, and all comments would be considered before ministers made a decision.

Provisional settlements would be announced towards the end of November.