Families in Northumberland have been spared a 25% increase in the cost of having their garden waste collected this year following a revolt by opposition county councillors.

It was planned to put up the annual charge for the service from £20 to £25 in March - to bring in an extra £60,000 and help the county council achieve tough budget savings.

Now the saving will have to be found elsewhere after Conservative and Labour councillors joined forces to defeat the move at a meeting in County Hall on Wednesday.

A veteran Labour MP has accused council bosses in Northumberland of seeking the easy way out by targeting elderly and disabled people when making tough budget cuts.

Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell is writing to Liberal Democrat leaders at County Hall and asking them to "stop hitting" the elderly population of the county.

He says the recent announcement the council is axing a scheme which provides cut-price taxi travel for hundreds of pensioners who are unable to use buses is the latest in a damaging series of cost-cutting measures affecting older people.

Northumberland County Council will not have to make a further £11m in "horrendous" budget cuts, the Government has said.

It was feared that around £30m worth of savings would be required to balance next year's budget but the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has allowed councillors to pay for some costs from the capital budget.

The authority had submitted four bids for capitalisation in respect of potential losses on Icelandic investments of £9.1m, for £6m in strain on the pension fund, £2.8m for enhanced redundancy and £1.4m for statutory redundancy.

Beleaguered council bosses in Northumberland have been left anxiously waiting for a key Government decision on whether they will have to find a further £11m in "horrendous" budget cuts.

County council leaders expected to be told yesterday whether ministers will allow them to use a financial loophole to avoid having to make almost £30m in savings this year.

But last night - as the authority revealed it has dropped plans to close a number of tourist information centres in Northumberland - there had still been no decision from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

A cut-price travel scheme for elderly and disabled people who are too frail to use buses looks set to become a victim of tough council budget cuts in Northumberland.

More than 800 vulnerable pensioners across the county use the scheme, which allows them concessionary travel in taxis because they are unable to use other forms of public transport.

They use council-issued vouchers, tokens or passes to pay for taxi trips to the shops, GP and hospital appointments or to visit relatives and friends.

A council facing serious financial problems is considering providing mortgages for people struggling to get a home loan because of the credit crunch.

Cash-strapped Northumberland County Council - which is having to make budget cuts of up to £50m over two years - is thinking of using its capital resources to help would-be home buyers who are being frustrated by the continued squeeze on lending.

A report is being prepared for the Liberal Democrat executive in March on the possibility of the authority giving mortgages "in certain circumstances" to applicants unable to secure a loan from commercial lenders.

A backlash has begun against potential library closures after it was revealed closing six libraries would only save £27,800.

Six community libraries in Northumberland are now asking why they were earmarked to be closed to save money when they cost the county so little to run.

Scott Dickinson of Hadston House Libary

The decision to close Ashington Hirst, Lynemouth, Kielder, Bedlington Station, Blyth South Beach and Hadston libraries has been temporarily shelved after the savings were found elsewhere, and will be revisited in six to 12 months time. But the people who house and run the libraries are speaking out, asking why they were even chosen in the first place when the benefits far outweigh the cost.

A new £18.4m package of budget cuts is being proposed by council leaders in Northumberland, as they await a crucial Government decision which could potentially leave them having to save a further £10m.

The Liberal Democrat administration at County Hall has drawn up the revised savings for 2010/11 after carrying out public consultations on initial £16m proposals published in November.

They will be discussed by the executive next week - and are based on the assumption the Government will allow the council to capitalise its £10m redundancy costs this year, cushioning the impact on the revenue budget.

A row has erupted in Northumberland over the action being taken to tackle the plague of potholes which is facing drivers following the recent big freeze.

Political opponents on the county council have clashed over a demand for a better system of repairs and maintenance - amid claims that 'small craters' have appeared on some roads which are both dangerous and potentially damaging.

Conservative councillors are calling on the Liberal Democrat administration to urgently bring in an improved system for looking after roads, pavements and bridges - and have condemned what they say is the current 'muddle through' approach.

Plans to close 12 libraries across Northumberland were put on hold yesterday - but communities are remaining cautious over what the future will bring.

A dozen libraries in the county have been earmarked for closure as Northumberland County Council looks to make massive savings in the next budget.

Libraries at Ashington Hirst, Lynemouth, Kielder (pictured- Kielder Village), Bedlington Station, Blyth South Beach and Hadston were first in line for the axe because of their alleged low usage, under initial consultations on £16m worth of cuts.