SCOTS could face council tax hikes of 6 per cent in 2022 after Finance Secretary Kate Forbes offered authorities £90 million to freeze the charge in the forthcoming financial year, MSPs have been warned.

Gail Macgregor, resources spokeswoman for local government body Cosla, also said staffing cuts may have to be made if councils do not get more cash to fund a pay increase for workers.

In her draft Scottish Budget unveiled at Holyrood last week, Forbes promised councils would receive an overall funding package of £11.6 billion for 2021-22.

She said freezing council tax this year will help provide “financial reassurance to families who are struggling”.

Macgregor told Holyrood’s Finance Committee that authorities are clear that council tax should be determined locally – adding leaders would most likely have “applied fair prudence” in determining any rises.

But she said it will now be “very difficult” for them not to take the cash from the Scottish Government to freeze the charge.

She stressed: “Leaders understand their communities.

“This is very much a local tax, it should have been left to leaders to make that decision.”