Up to a fifth of councils in England may not accept the government's offer to help pay for a freeze in council tax next year, a survey suggests. Research by the Local Government Chronicle found that 4% of respondents had already decided against a freeze. A further 16% said they were still thinking about the offer, which ministers cannot force them to accept.

Local Government Minister Bob Neill accused councils shunning the freeze of "contempt for hard-working families".
At last month's Conservative Party conference, Chancellor George Osborne said he was making £805m available to enable councils in England to extend a council tax freeze from 2011-12 to...Read more here---> BBC News - Fifth of English councils