Robison welcomes confirmation of the council tax freeze
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has welcomed confirmation council tax bills will be frozen across Scotland.
Ms Robison spoke out after Argyll and Bute, which had originally proposed a 10 per cent hike in council tax charges for 2024-25, agreed that the levy would remain unchanged.
Council leader there Jim Lynch said additional cash from the government meant the authority was now able to both freeze the council tax and protect local services.
The authority had initially been set to defy First Minister Humza Yousaf, who had angered local government leaders when he announced the freeze without consulting them.
But with a new coalition of SNP, Labour and independent councillors having taken over Argyll and Bute earlier this month, the freeze in bills was confirmed following a special meeting on Monday.
The change was welcomed by Ms Robison, with the Deputy First Minister stating: “We know many households continue to struggle with the impact of rising prices, and this council tax freeze, funded by the Scottish Government, is just one of many ways that we’re offering support.
“Council tax is already lower in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK, and over two million households will now benefit from this freeze.”
Ms Robison, also the Finance Secretary at Holyrood, added: “We deeply value the role local authorities play in Scotland’s communities, which is why, in the face of a profoundly challenging financial situation, we have made available record funding of more than £14 billion to councils in 2024-25, a real-terms increase of 2.5 per cent compared with the previous year.”
Argyll and Bute will receive an additional £6.26 million is being made available to the local authority for agreeing to keep council tax bills at the same level as last year.
Mr Lynch said: “Wearenowina position to freeze council tax this year and also save local services from cuts. “People need council services to live well in their communities. They also need dayto-day costs to be kept down wherever possible.
“Today’s decision passes on the benefits of this new funding to our communities, council tax is frozen and council services continue to be available.”
He added: “Updated council tax bills will be issued to households setting out payments with 0 per cent increase on last year.
“Payments for the remainder of the year will be reduced to take account of payments already made at the higher rate set in February.”
Last month Inverclyde Council agreed to effectively freeze its council tax despite it also initially defying the Scottish Government.
Its policy and resources convener, Councillor Stephen Mccabe, said the government had “badly damaged its relationship” with local authority governing body Cosla.
He added that the council had taken the “right decision at the time” but urged the first minister not to implement any further freezes for the remainder of the current parliament’s life.