Moray Council could increase council tax by 26 per cent in just three years

Council tax bills are set to rise by up to £350 next year, under plans revealed in new budget documents.

Moray Council’s draft budget for the coming year proposes a ten per cent increase, leading to a £95 rise in the lowest rate of tax.

The budget, to be voted on at a full council meeting next Wednesday (February 26), also contains “indicative” figures which predict a 26 per cent hike in council tax over the next three years.

In total, the year-on-year increases will generate an extra £5.5 million this financial year, £6 million in 2026 and £4.2 million in 2027.

Savings of £6.4 million over the next financial year are still required to balance the books, documents reveal, including £700,000 to be saved through cuts to nurseries.

However, details of what a £2 million package of “further savings” will involve have not yet been revealed.

Moray Council currently has a Conservative minority administration, meaning that the party’s ten councillors cannot pass the budget without the consent of other groups.

Proposed amendments to the budget from other parties are yet to be released, but could lead to compromise.

Speaking to The Northern Scot, Council Leader Councillor Kathleen Robertson (Forres, Conservative) claimed the council had been forced into tax rises by years of being “underfunded” by the Scottish Government.

She added that the lack of funding had “seriously impacted” the council’s income and its ability to provide services.

“I think it's reflective of the fact that we have been underfunded,” the Council Leader said.

“I think it would be fair to say that funding to local authorities in general, over the last number of years along with about 11 years worth of council tax freezing, has seriously impacted on our income to be able to spend on our statutory services as well as those that are discretionary.”

Moray Council is “not alone” in proposing a ten per cent council tax rise, she added, with Scottish Borders Council and Midlothian having already proposed similar measures.

However, Cllr Robertson also said she was hopeful that planned increases over the next two years “may well come down”.

“It’s important to say that the ten per cent for next year and the six per cent for the final year, at this stage, are indicative,” she said.

“I'm hopeful that these may well come down, depending on whatever budget pressures we experience over the next three years.

“But it is important to signal a long-term plan financially to show that we're committed to trying to bring this council back into financial stability.”

The council leader also claimed that Moray Council was disadvantaged in funding terms by being a rural authority, meaning it receives “less money per head of population”.

She also said the UK Government’s increase in the rate of employers’ National Insurance contributions had led to further budget pressures, along with “uncertainties” around coming pay rises for staff.

However, the council leader said she was “glad” to have proposed a balanced budget that does not require dipping into reserves.

“We have to be able to balance our budget,” she said.

“I'm glad to say it's looking like we can balance it without using reserves, which is the first time for a number of years.”