Council tax freeze will mean tighter budget squeeze for West Lothian Council

Head of finance Patrick Welsh told councillors that the compensation promised by the Scottish Government fell more than £1 million short of the almost £6 million the council could have raised.

The shortfall will now have to be found from further service cuts. Finance officers had proposed a 5.8 per cent council tax rise, in line with last year – to raise £5.9 million.

The loss of revenue will add to the £38.2 million shortfall West Lothian faces over the next four years.

The First Minister surprised CoSLA and individual local authorities in October when he announced that council tax rates would be frozen for all bands in 2024/25.

Councils of all political stripes across Scotland called the freeze a gimic and predicted further hardship.

The Scottish Government promised full compensation for councils.

However, Mr Welsh confirmed it was not fully funded and the council will need to find an additional £1.4 million of budget savings next year to bridge the gap.

Council tax is an important source of funding and helps to fund services such as schools, social care and roads.

Council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: “Scottish Water has announced that water bills will increase by over eight per cent, to provide “significant investment” in replacing ageing infrastructure and improving services.

“Why is it the case that West Lothian Council is then not able to raise council tax to invest in critical local infrastructure, such as roads?

“The reality is that councils across Scotland will, in fact, have to reduce spending following the Scottish Government freezing council tax, which reduces our ability to invest in local services.”

West Lothian Council already faces a budget gap, estimated to be around £38.2 million over the four years to 2027/28. Following the Scottish Government Draft Budget announcement in December, insufficient levels of funding for the council combined with increasing costs, meant council officers needed to identify potential options to reduce spending and/or increase income to offset cuts to services.