Falkirk votes through largest council tax hike in Scotland

Falkirk Council will increase council tax by an “eye-watering” 15.6 per cent in order to avoid cuts to services.

The hike, which is the largest in Scotland, was condemned as a “political shambles” by critics.

It will take Band D council tax in Falkirk to £1576.77, an increase of £4.09 per week.

Scots are facing some of the biggest council tax increases in 20 years as local authorities across Scotland set their budgets.

Councillors in Orkney voted in favour of a 15 per cent rise, which was previously the largest in Scotland, but other areas, such as East Lothian, Midlothian and the Borders, have also seen double-digit increases. Clackmannanshire voted through a 13 per cent hike.

The Kelpies in Falkirk | PA

First Minister John Swinney previously told The Scotsman increases of 10 per cent or more were too high and not necessary.

In Falkirk, the SNP administration was defeated as independent councillor Laura Murtagh was backed by the Labour group and other independents to push through the 15.6 per cent increase.

Conservative MSP Craig Hoy said: “This eye-watering rise will hit Falkirk residents hard, but it’s just the most extreme example of the steep council tax rises being imposed up and down Scotland.”

He said years of SNP underfunding had left councils “with no option but to impose yet more pain on hard-pressed taxpayers in order to maintain essential services”.

Ms Murtagh said she knew members “were going to take an awful lot of abuse” for the increase but said she could not support cuts to education without proper consultation.

“I hate having to do this but it is the right thing to do,” she said. “I have done my best to get a budget worth voting for.”

Her budget also rejected £1 million of cuts to funded places in private nurseries, saying nurseries had not been consulted on this proposal.

Ms Murtagh said: “I do feel physically ill to the pit of my stomach where we are having to make these impossible decisions.

“We are going to take an awful lot of abuse over this budget and that isn’t acceptable but it is the reality. We have a £33 million budget gap and we have a duty to bridge that gap.”

All the budget options being presented at Falkirk would have seen large increases in council tax. The SNP’s proposals would have meant a rise of 13.7 per cent.

Anne Hannah, the Labour group leader, laid the blame firmly at the door of the Scottish Government for not passing on funding to councils. She said the increase would be £4.09 a week.

“I know for some that is a lot of money and I do find it difficult to put forward this proposal but if we are going to try to improve things for the people of Falkirk we need additional funding,” she said.

Cecil Meiklejohn, the SNP leader of the council, said it was “really disappointing” not to get any consensus for the administration’s budget, which she felt was very close to a final agreement.

She said the Scottish Government had been forced to mitigate many decisions by the UK Government over the years.

Ms Meiklejohn said the SNP had attempted to take a “prudent and practical” approach, and argued this was another example of the council “not wanting to take difficult decisions”.

She said: “While they may not have been perfect there was a whole host of information there that could have allowed a decision to be made.”

The Conservative group proposed a 10 per cent rise in council tax saying it was “far from ideal” but was necessary for the tough financial situation the council was in. They dubbed the final result “a political shambles”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Budget delivered a record Local Government Settlement worth over £15 billion including real terms protection of General Revenue Grant, which was a key ask of COSLA and opposition parties.

“Decisions on Council Tax are therefore a matter for local authorities to take in consultation with local communities to whom they are accountable.

“Over 460,000 households receive some level of CTR, and on average recipients save over £850 a year.”