West and East Lothian councils latest to announce tax plans as deadline looms

East Lothian Council leader Willie Innes said: “The last five years has proven to be one of the most challenging periods faced by East Lothian Council. As demand for our essential services has increased, the amount of Scottish Government funding available to us has continued to fall. My focus throughout this period has been on defending and protecting the vital public services upon which so many people across our county rely on”

Meanwhile West Lothian Council joined Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and South Lanarkshire to confirm it is freezing the basic rate of Council Tax.

The council tax in West Lothian has been frozen for bands A to D, with the tax for Band D remaining at £1,128.

Bills for properties in Bands E to H will rise automatically from April through national changes to the way council tax is calculated which have been made by the Scottish Government.

The council said it would invest almost £398m to deliver local services, and was providing a commitment to consult West Lothian residents on future decisions, including council tax levels, over the next five years.

West Lothian Council leader John McGinty, said: “Although the Scottish Government has provided Scottish councils with some flexibility around council tax this year, any further increases in council tax would fall far short of what is needed to plug our budget gap of £9.8m and significant budget cuts would still be needed.

“We have taken the decision therefore not to raise council tax further because we recognise that finances remain tight for families not just councils, and it delivers on a promise made to West Lothian Council taxpayers.

“We believe that further increases in council tax at this time would only place greater strain on hard pressed family finances and we believe that our council tax freeze in 2017/18 will be welcomed by the majority of households, as will consultation on future decisions over the next five years.”

He added: We are confident that we are making the right choices for our communities and that our residents’ aspirations are reflected in our budget.

“Our aim in setting this budget is to ensure that we find a balance between delivering important services and supporting local families as they also look to balance their own household budgets in tough times.”

To date seventeen Scottish authorities have set their rates:

Freeze:

2.5% rise:

3% rise:

All of Scotland’s 32 local authorities have until March 2 to set their tax and spending plans for the next financial year.