Council Tax in West Lothian likely to rise by three per cent to balance books

dailyrecord.co.uk:

West Lothian councillors will meet to decide the last budget of this current administration next week – and they face making some tough decisions to balance the books.The current budget model is based on the assumption of the three per cent increase in council tax.That figure has been agreed as part of a five-year budget plan, but council tax levels have to be agreed on an annual basis.A meeting of the Partnership and Resources Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel (PDSP) heard that any option to increase council tax by less than three per cent would have an adverse impact on the council’s recurring budget position.From 2017/18 to 2021/22, the average Band D council tax rate for Scotland has increased from £1173 to £1308, an increase of £135, or 65p per week for four years.West Lothian’s Band D rate has increased by £148.42 or 71p per week over the same period.Of 32 local authorities, West Lothian has the 10th lowest figure for the average Band D, charging £1276.42 annually.The lowest is in the Western Isles at £1193.50; the highest is Midlothian at £1409.Council tax accounts for around 19 per cent of the council’s overall budget, with 80 per cent of the budget coming from the Scottish Government.The council has made £141.7 million of savings over the period 2007/08 to 2021/22 and it is becoming increasingly challenging to make savings without impacting on the level of service provided to the public.Broad support for changes to council tax was one of the outcomes of the council’s public consultation on budget priorities in 2017.Although council tax is applied to all houses, not all households are eligible to pay it.There are exemptions, discounts and a council tax reduction scheme is in place to reduce the burden for the