PLANS to freeze council tax in Renfrewshire were rubber-stamped this afternoon - with the local authority insisting it "listened to communities" before making the decision.

Council chiefs had the option of imposing an increase of up to three per cent but instead opted to use efficiency savings and better debt management to cope with its funding issues.

Residents in properties in bands E to H will still pay more, however, after the Scottish Government changed the way council tax bills are set.

Councils set the band D charge, with all other charges being a fixed proportion of this amount.

As this relationship is being changed by the Scottish Government, people whose properties are in bands E, F, G and H will pay more automatically.

Residents in Band E properties will pay £107 per year more in council tax, with bills rising from £1,423 to £1,530.

Those living in Band F properties will pay £211 per year more, with bills increasing from £1,682 to £1,893.

Charges for residents in Band G properties go up from £1,941 to £2,281 - a rise of £340.

And bills for those living in Band H properties increase by £524, from £2,329 to £2,853.

However, the freeze approved by Renfrewshire Council at its budget meeting this afternoon means there will be no increase for thousands of people living in properties in bands A, B, C and D.

Council leader Mark Macmillan said: “We have been determined not to pass the cost pressures we face on to households in Renfrewshire while so many people are having to tighten their own budgets and, in the worst cases, are struggling to provide the basics for their families.

“We are ambitious for Renfrewshire and what it can achieve and I am pleased we have been able to protect the pockets of people who live and work in the area, despite the ongoing cuts and increasing pressures on our budget."

The council’s £386m budget for existing public services in 2017/18 includes a £16m reduction in annual spending to address a shortfall which must be met in the coming year.

Council bosses say this shortfall has been managed by savings delivered through effective debt management and the Better Council change programme, which improves efficiencies across the local authority, rather than cutting frontline services or hitting people in the pocket.

The budget also includes investment for maintenance of Renfrewshire's roads network, with £6.7m to be spent on key routes.

An extra £1.5m has been set aside for council initiatives to tackle poverty, such as providing money and energy advice, literacy programmes, breakfast clubs and supporting families with the cost of the school day.

There is also an extra £1.5m for education services in Johnstone, through a refurbishment of St Anthony’s Primary and a new Spateston Nursery.

In addition, music tuition fees for every child in Renfrewshire schools will be scrapped and the Cultural Heritage and Events Fund will be doubled, with an extra £500,000 to benefit dozens of community arts groups.

Council chiefs have also ringfenced an extra £1m for investment in community facilities, as well as £20,000 for each of the region’s Local Area Committees to expand the grants available to worthy causes.

All fees and charges, including those for adult social care and council-owned leisure facilities, will also be frozen for the coming year.

This includes the likes of fees for fitness classes and hire of football pitches.

Councillor Macmillan said the measures agreed in today's budget will help to protect Renfrewshire residents from some of the "severe cuts" faced by public services.

He added: “Through our effective management of the public purse, we have listened to what matters to our communities and continued to freeze the council tax at current rates, as well as freeze council rents, charges for adult social care and charges for our leisure facilities.

“We are a region of great prosperity but also significant inequality and we want to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities through education and employment to grow a Renfrewshire that is an attractive place to visit, work and invest in.

“We have listened to what our communities have told us and invested in initiatives that will make a real difference to people’s pockets.”