Four Scottish councils will confirm their council tax rises today. Midlothian, West Lothian, Western Isles and Shetland councils will all meet today to vote on their budgets for the next financial year.
Midlothian is run by the SNP, West Lothian is a Labour administration, while the Western Isles and Shetland are both run by independents.
This is a bumper week for authorities announcing their council tax increases. A total of 18 local authorities will set their rates this week – with four more decided on Wednesday and 10 doing so on Thursday. Six councils decided their rates last week, with eight voting on their budgets next week.
John Swinney has pleaded with local authorities to limit their increases, saying that 10 per cent would be too high. But these calls have already fallen on deaf ears.
Three councils have already announced rises of 10 per cent, one has brought in an 8.2 per cent hike, another brought in an eight per cent increase and even SNP -run Glasgow was 7.5 per cent.
Which councils confirmed their rises last week?
Six councils – East Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, the Borders and North Lanarkshire – all announced their rises last week. These all ranged between 7.5 per cent and 10 per cent.
Which councils will announce hikes later this week?
East Renfrewshire, Moray, North Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire will all decide their budgets on Wednesday. Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee, East Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire and Stirling. will all do so on Thursday.
Which areas will vote on increases next week?
Aberdeen, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Highland, Inverclyde, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, West Dunbartonshire will all confirm their increases next week.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, clickhere