Visit Scunthorpe have learned today that at next week�s budget meeting the ruling Labour group will be proposing a freeze on council tax for all residents within North Lincolnshire. The proposal will be debated at council next Wednesday evening (23rd Feb) from 6pm. We are led to believe that the Coalition of Resistance will be lobbying the meeting calling for no cuts to public services. Speaking on the matter earlier today, Mark Kirk (Labour leader) told VisitScunthorpe.com �Council tax will be frozen for the next financial year, subject to approval by the full council next week. The austerity measures introduced by the Tory government have left councils across the country reeling. Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State, seems to be relishing the continual attacks on public services� While not naming any specifics about what services could be under threat from the cuts made by the government, Cll Kirk did go on to say �It has left this authority needing to make cuts of almost �15-million, on top of the �4-million raided from this year�s budget. We will do our best to minimise the impact these Tory cuts will have on services. But I cannot give any guarantees. The council is making decisions we would not need to make if the Tory cuts were not so deep and so quick.� It has become clear that the actual level of cuts inflicted upon North Lincolnshire residents by the ConDem coalition will see a reduction in council spending from �149.2 million to �133.9 million. In total over the next four years North Lincolnshire can expect to see an overall reduction of around 27% One of the main criticisms levelled at the government over the last week has been the speed and harshness of the cuts, even their own supporters have written to the times complaining that the cuts are front loaded and too harsh for the first year. When you consider the ideologically charged nature of many cuts levelled by the government, and off set that against increases in food, fuel and VAT you can understand the logic being employed by the council in an attempt to lesson some of that burden on local residents. The cuts to date have so far hit the poorest the hardest, and an increase in council tax would only add to the burden of many struggling families in the area. Cllr Kirk went on to say in his statement earlier �Make no mistake, the government�s promise of extra money to cover a council tax freeze is just a big con trick. Our budget has been reduced by almost �15-million for 2011/12 compared to what it was for 2010/11, so to try and spin a line about extra money is misleading local people. Local services will suffer and jobs will go � and these Tory cuts are solely responsible. "We will continue to consult with our staff and our trade unions and do everything in our power to minimise the impact of these Tory cuts on local people, but it will not be easy." Cllr Kirk told Visit Scunthorpe: "The Tory government's cuts have left us with some very difficult, often unpalatable, decisions to make. �4-million was robbed from our budget this year, the first time this has ever happened in all my years of local government. A further �15-million will be cut from planned spending from April 2011. We all recognise the need to be prudent and have been working for some years now to be more efficient. But a 27 per cent cut in funding is not about efficiency, it's an idelogical assault on public services. The cuts are front loaded. The Tories have chosen to do that deliberately, rather than spread them out more evenly. We will look to protect services where we can but I won't make promises I may not be able to keep." The council meeting on the 23rd is open to the public from 6pm, and will be lobbied by the Coalition of Resistance, who�s intended action is not yet know. The CoR will be holding a public meeting on Thursday 17th February at the Laneham Street Community Centre at 7:30pm to plan this and action to canvas support for the TUC rally in March. VisitScunthorpe.Com will be providing streaming services from these events.