COUNCIL tax in Inverclyde is set to rise by three per cent, the Tele can reveal.

Councillors on the local authority's cross-party budget group have agreed to the increase to raise an additional £950,000 towards plugging an estimated £2 million funding gap over the next year.

The proposed rise is almost two per cent less than the near-five per cent maximum increase permitted by the Scottish Government, as announced in their draft budget last week.

It is understood elected members were reluctant to raise the levy by the full amount on the back of three successive hikes.

The three per cent rise means that bills will cost between £26 a year - or 50p a week - more for those in Band A properties and up to £96 - just over £1.80 a week - extra for Band H.

Households on Band D - the average banding - will pay an additional £39 a year, equivalent to 75p a week.

A source told the Tele: "Three per cent is significantly short of the full amount allowed by the government without penalty.

"The general consensus among councillors is that nearly five per cent is just a step too far and would have too much of an impact on family budgets."

Local authorities can only increase council tax up to the maximum amount set out by the Scottish Government.

Anything above that would result in financial penalties being imposed on them.

Last year, councillors agreed to raise council tax by the full 4.79 per cent allowed following a three per cent hike 12 months earlier - the first rise locally in 10 years following a decade-long freeze by the government.

Elected members in Inverclyde decided to delay an initial increase in 2017 to prevent households on higher bandings being hit with two hikes after a national shake-up saw the levy go up by between 7.5 and 22 per cent for Band E-H properties.

The latest council tax proposals will be formally tabled at a meeting next Thursday when elected members will be asked to approve the rate for 2020/21.