Three west coast councils confirm council tax rises

Council tax in Argyll and Bute is to rise by almost 10% as the local authority tries to fill a gap of more than £13m in its finances.

Councillors said the 9.7% increase was needed to help protect local services and to fund investment in roads, social care support and leisure facilities.

A controversial proposal to save money by scrapping public toilets in the region was rejected in the council's 2026-27 budget.

East Renfrewshire Council also announced its budget for the coming year, with council tax going up by 6%, while South Lanarkshire Council confirmed a 6.5% increase.

East Renfrewshire will also implement £3.17m of efficiency savings in a bid to address an £8m shortfall.

Both local authorities described this year's budget process as challenging, with budget gaps running into millions of pounds.

Jim Lynch, leader of Argyll and Bute council, said the budget would avoid losses of services and keep vital support in for local communities.

He added: "This year has been one of the most challenging budgets this council has faced.

"Services and support that we know people rely on were going to be lost to the budget black hole.

"The council continues to deliver millions of pounds of efficiencies, but the scale of the budget gap meant that increasing council tax had to be part of budget decisions - to save vital services that many people have told us really matter to them."

Lynch admitted the decision would be "difficult to take" for some people, but described it as a responsible choice.

Savings proposals rejected include closing all public toilets, closing walk-in customer service points, cutting back gritting and street sweeping services and reducing funding for leisure and library services delivered through Live Argyll.

Investment includes £24m for the roads reconstruction budget over a two-year period, a £6m weather resilience fund to restore and repair infrastructure, and an increase of over £4m for the area's health and social care partnership.

The budget meeting also featured a heated dispute between depute provost Jan Brown and independent councillor Tommy Macpherson.

A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council said: "At the start of the council meeting an issue was raised in regard to alleged comments which involved one councillor commenting on another.

"The two councillors involved agreed to speak following the meeting.

"It was highlighted that if the councillor being discussed wishes to progress the matter further, he is welcome to contact the council's monitoring officer."

East Renfrewshire Council was facing a budget gap of £8.67m for the coming year, which will be closed through £3.17m of identified efficiency savings, using a further £1.05m from reserve funds and implementing the council tax increase.

Council leader Owen O'Donnell said this year's budget had been made even tougher than expected due to a change in the way adult social care funding was distributed across the country.

The updated national formula that determines how councils receive funding for social care services will mean East Renfrewshire sees an £8.6m cut to funding over the coming years.

However, the local authority agreed to increase the money provided to the area's health and social care partnership by an additional £2m.

O'Donnell said: "We received a very poor budget settlement this year, including an £8.6m permanent cut to our adult social care distribution over the coming years.

"This is at a time when demand for our services is rising year on year, particularly due to our ageing population.

"Despite these financial challenges, we have acted responsibly and decisively in delivering a balanced budget."

In South Lanarkshire Labour, SNP, Liberal Democrats, Independent and Green councillors worked together to pass the budget.

They said it would see £33.3m go towards important projects and services in 2026-27, as well as a further £3.5m of recurring funding to support long-term improvements.

In a group statement, the parties added: "Our Budget for People and Place in South Lanarkshire will lead to improvements in open spaces and roads, including upgrading underpasses and enhanced gully cleaning to tackle flood-prone areas.

"It will employ more of the frontline workers who work day in, day out to make our communities look and feel better for all.

"There will be free swimming for under-16s, and schools will get new, modern visual equipment and larger devolved budgets to pay for the likes of classroom supplies."

A £4m investment for local businesses is also part of the budget.