NO cuts to borough services - that is the pledge from Eastleigh council leader Keith House following the release of provisional government figures for next year's revenue support grant.

Councillor House has given a cautious welcome to the 2003/4 grant from central government after poring over the settlement figures with finance chiefs.

But although Eastleigh looks set to benefit from a big borough increase, the extra cash may mean nothing to council taxpayers when next year's bills drop through letterboxes.

Band D taxpayers in Eastleigh currently pay a total council tax bill of £945.42 with a huge chunk of that figure going to Hampshire County Council - which has been told it will get the lowest county council settlement in the UK with a meagre 3.7 per cent increase.

Cllr House said from the latest information Eastleigh had received it looked as if the borough council would get a grant increase of around nine per cent next year. However, he warned that the figures were provisional and usually ended up being a little lower.

"With government expecting district councils to pick up responsibility for licensing of pubs from the magistrates' service, and tough new targets on speeding up planning, this settlement looks broadly as if it will cover our costs other than inflation."

But he added: "Eastleigh's figures look better than many other councils and this suggests that government may finally have accepted that we have had too low a level of grant in the past. That must be good for Eastleigh residents. It does mean that we can approach next year without the threat of cuts to services - although it is too early to forecast council tax levels."

Wearing his county council hat Cllr House who is the Lib Dems' opposition lead on environment at The Castle, said the grant settlement figures for Hampshire County Council made a mockery of the county's "Hands off Hampshire" campaign, which claimed £84m would be taken away from the authority.

He added: "Hampshire has been given an inflation-proofed grant settlement. There can now be no excuse for service cuts - like the silently-waged war on bus services - from Hampshire next year."