East Ayrshire residents face a hike in council tax — but it may not be as high as previously feared.
Having removed its freeze on council tax, the Scottish Government has placed the onus on local authorities to decide on any increases.
However, it will no longer give councils additional cash to make up the shortfall, meaning rises will be almost inevitable.
East Ayrshire Council revealed that they are looking at a less than anticipated rise in council tax of three per cent. Suggestions had been made that a five per cent increase was being considered.
That would see a Band D council tax currently at £1,375 increase by just over £42 to £1,417 per year.
Joseph McLachlan, chief financial officer and head of finance and ICT at the council, said: "Our current budget planning assumption is that council tax will increase by three percent in 2022/23.
"We are continuing to hold discussions regarding the council’s budget and we will finalise any decisions about potential council tax uplifts in due course."
Alison Evison, who leads council umbrella body COSLA, said that the money available to authorities from the Scottish Government would not meet the demands at a local level.
She told the BBC that the issue would not be whether there would be a council tax rise — following the removal of the tax freeze brought in last year — but the size of that increase.
For its part, the Scottish Government has insisted that it had provided increased core funding. However, councils have argued that this does not tell the whole story, with rising inflation and ring-fenced funding not taken into account.
East Ayrshire councillor Tom Cook said that the Scottish Government was 'passing the buck' to East Ayrshire Council.
He said: “The SNP have underfunded East Ayrshire Council for years and we simply cannot cope with more devastating cuts.
“Instead of backing the calls from my colleagues in the Scottish Parliament, SNP-Green ministers are passing the buck to East Ayrshire Council. That will either mean crucial day-to-day services being lost or residents being hit with Council Tax rises.
“Enough is enough. That is why I’m pleased to back Scottish Conservative plans to enshrine a fair funding deal for councils in law, to give East Ayrshire Council assurances over their budgets every year."
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