Council tax set to rise

Council tax is expected to rise by three per cent in Argyll and Bute having been frozen for a year due to the impact of the Covid. The increase has been built into the council’s forthcoming budget.

The Scottish Government recently removed the three per cent cap on council tax increases, but no indication of a higher rise has been given in Argyll and Bute.

A report was due to go before the authority’s policy and resources committee last Thursday (February 17) followed by the full council.

Another meeting of the full council, this week, will set the authority’s full budget for the 2022/23 financial year.

Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: ‘The council tax budget for 2021/22 was set at £52.859m.

‘There was a council tax freeze in 2021/22 and due to the impact of Covid-19 during 2020/21 it was considered prudent not to account for any council tax growth in 2021/22. This is the starting position for 2022/23. However, an assessment was carried out in December 2021 and the growth in 2021/22 has been much better than estimated.

‘There is an assumption of an approval of a three per cent increase in council tax in 2022/23 and a three per cent increase in council tax in the best case, midrange and worst case scenarios in the years beyond 2022/23.’

The report also states that a three per cent rise in fees and charges is also built into the budget planning process, giving additional income of nearly £400,000. A number of savings options are also under consideration, having been identified by officers and presented to a budget working group (BWG) of councillors.