'We cannot rule out Council Tax increases' says Highland Council despite £120M of budget funding
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The Highland Council has given a cautious welcome to the announcement yesterday (January 27) that the Scottish Government has identified an additional one-off £120M for local government funding from this year’s budget.
The funding represents the equivalent of a 4 per cent Council Tax rise. Finance secretary Kate Forbes said whilst councils have full flexibility in setting local Council Tax rates, there is "no requirement for any inflation-busting increases" in 2022-23.
Speaking during the Stage One Budget Bill debate, Ms Forbes said:“Consequently I now have some new flexibility and am pleased to confirm my intention to utilise the Scotland Reserve to carry forward sufficient funding to allow me to allocate a further £120 million of resource to local government. Councils will have complete flexibility to allocate this additional funding as they wish in 2022-23."
She further added: “Councils asked for an additional £100 million to deal with particular pressures. We have heard them and listened and we are going to go further. This will allow them to deal with the most pressing issues they face.
"At a time when people are understandably worried about the cost of living, I would point out this increase in funding would be equivalent to a 4 per cent increase in Council Tax next year, so whilst councils have full flexibility in setting local council tax rates, I do not believe that there is a requirement for any inflation-busting increases next year.”
Highland Council leader, Cllr Margaret Davidson, said: “Highland Council campaigned really hard for a fairer budget settlement for Scotland’s local authorities to address recurring pressures.
“This funding will help us to manage some one-off pressures this year, but it will not bridge the gap caused by the reduction in our ongoing core budget, and many increased costs – all of which will need to be met through front line savings and increases in fees, charges and Council Tax.
“The council is working hard to find ways to manage this in a way that has least impact on those who struggle to pay, but it will be impossible to mitigate completely given the scale of the challenge.”
Depute leader, Alasdair Christie added: “This is a one-off payment which won’t be recurring for future years so we will still have the same issues in 11 months’ time. It will certainly help but it’s not going to solve all the problems that local government has.
“The cabinet secretary has given this additional money to stop large above inflation increases of Council Tax, but it will not stop council tax increases. Unless we receive more money for local government, we cannot rule out Council Tax increases.
“At a time when folk are coming off periods of furlough, struggling to pay soaring energy bills and seeing prices in supermarkets move continually upwards, surely more financial help could be given by the government to support council services which underpin community well-being at these difficult times.”
