by political editor Paul Francis

Your county council tax bill is set to rise by less than two per cent this year - but only if the Government agrees to pay back Kent County Council more than £7million owed for looking after asylum seekers.

Kent County Council has announced a hike of 1.86 per cent this year, meaning average bills for homes in Band D will increase to £1,045.

If approved next month, it would be the lowest increase ever set by the county council.

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But the ruling Conservative administration has warned there could be a sting in the tail because it has not yet recovered more than £7million owed in grants to meet the costs of looking after asylum seekers.

If the money is not recouped, bills will have to rise by just under 2.6 per cent, meaning an increase to £1,053 for the average householder.

The KCC element accounts for the largest slice of council tax bills.

The council has also announced there will be a pay freeze for thousands of employees and about 460 job losses over the next two years, some of which will be compulsory.

At the same time, it says that despite some £60million of savings, its spending plans will spare key frontline services.

Council leader Cllr Paul Carter said he did not want to stoke up resentment against asylum seekers but it was wrong for Kent taxpayers - to pick up the tab.

He said: "Asylum is a national issue and we believe it is morally right that these costs are met nationally and not by Kent. I have been involved in protracted talks with the immigration minister Phil Woolas and I am hopeful we will resolve the issue of these unmet costs before we set the budget."

While vital services could be safeguarded this year, potentially painful cuts were more or less inevitable in the following two years, he added.

"We are all going to have to start talking about what it is we will have to stop doing - that is an inevitable conclusion if you look at what is happening in the public sector."

KCC said that despite the Government increasing grants by 3.2 per cent, it was not enough to meet unavoidable costs. Among them is an extra £4million to deal with the fallout from the Baby P scandal, which has seen child protection referrals rocket by 40 per cent.

Opposition Labour spokesman Cllr Les Christie said the only reason KCC was out of pocket over asylum was because it had failed to provide the evidence needed to prove its claims.

"The Government is paying for the asylum service provided that the claims are backed by proper documentation. No Government would hand out taxpayers' money without full verification. If the Conservatives cannot provide what is needed, then the fault lies with them," he said.