Local authorities are likely to limit council tax rises to no more than 3 per cent this year, according to a senior local government figure.
Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde council and a spokesman for young people at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), said there was no appetite among councillors for big tax hikes. That is despite speculation that bills could soar after Kate Forbes, the finance secretary, ended a freeze for all 32 councils.
In a 3 per cent rise band D charges would rise from £1,386 to £1,428 in Glasgow, from £1,377 to £1,419 in Aberdeen and from £1,332 to £1,372 in the Highlands. In Edinburgh band D bills would rise from £1,339 to £1,380 while tax in the highest band, H, would rise from £3,280 to £3,378.
McCabe said that while fellow council leaders were “appalled” by the government’s budget settlement unveiled last week, the idea that councils would “hammer people with huge council tax increases when the cost of living was about to go through the roof” was a step too far. He predicted that nearly all councils would agree rises of up to 3 per cent, with some continuing to freeze the tax before next year’s local elections, although this would require cuts to services.
He said: “There is no money in the settlement to pay for local council wage settlements, nor to cover the employers’ national insurance costs announced by the UK government.”
Advertisement
Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, urged new SNP MSPs, “many of whom still are or were local councillors until last May, to support their local colleagues in calling for a better deal for councils”.
