Edinburgh council is in line to become the latest town hall to defy John Swinney’s call for council tax rises to be limited. The Labour-led local authority is believed to be considering a rise of eight per cent to protect services.
Swinney said in a recent interview that his Government’s draft budget is positive for councils and means big rises are not needed. Asked if 10 per cent is too high, he said: “I think it is, yes.” He added: “I don’t think that’s necessary, to be honest.”
East Lothian council is considering a 10.6 per cent hike and it is understood Edinburgh is mulling over 8 per cent.
Senior figures in Glasgow council have discussed a five per cent rise. In a recent interview, Swinney has talked up his funding deal for councils: “I think if you had a quiet conversation with council leaders where they were not being bound by certain things, they would say to you, ‘We got a better settlement than we thought we were going to get’.
“I think that’s the case. That’s what they say to me as well in private moments – possibly, they might think these were reckless conversations to have with me, but they’ve had them. And I think as a consequence, that means council tax increases don’t need to be as high.”
The FM continued: “I’ve seen some pretty hostile reactions from local government to government budgets over my time, and the local government reaction to the budget this time round has been pretty welcoming.”
Council umbrella group COSLA has described the funding plan as a “step in the right direction”, but insisted “significant pressures” remain. Edinburgh council has been contacted.
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