A finance chief has reassured council tax payers that predicted rises of ten per cent will not happen.

Earlier this week, the Local Government Association said town halls faced a £2.2 billion black hole in their finances unless the Government injected a substantial amount of extra cash.

This is equivalent to a rise of ten per cent or about £100 a year on council tax bills.

Simon Burgess, finance councillor on Brighton and Hove City Council, said it was hard to predict the size of the funding gap before the Government had announced how much the authority would receive for the next financial year.

But he added: "I find it hard to imagine almost any circumstances where we would contemplate an increase as large as ten per cent. It is unimaginable we would contemplate a ten per cent rise."

Conservative finance spokesman Brian Oxley said there would be "terrific pressure" on the council to raise taxes next year and accused the Government of failing to properly fund councils.

He said: "Brighton and Hove is supposed to be a flagship Labour council.

"The fact it gets treated like this is an absolute scandal."

The Government is expected to announce local authorities' 2006/07 funding settlements by early next month.