Row as Scottish Borders set for 8.5% council tax rise

Senior Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillors in the Scottish Borders have proposed an 8.5% increase in council tax from April.

The 2026/27 bills will leave average Band D householders paying an additional £2.44 every week.

The councillors argue the more-than-double inflation hike is required to preserve frontline services.

But the proposal has caused a rift, with SNP members boycotting a pre-release media briefing.

Conservative council leader Euan Jardine said: "We are protecting services that the people of the Borders hold dear - despite ongoing financial pressures."

Although the Scottish government's annual revenue funding settlement of £315m is an increase from the current year's £292m, Scottish Borders Council (SBC) says it still has to find more than £8m of savings during 2026/27 to balance its books.

Part of the plans include not filling about 30 current vacancies across departments and shedding more jobs as it attempts to save £1.4m from a redesign of its Care at Home service.

Bosses also revealed that a further 26 positions are to go from its customer advice and business administration department over two years.

Council deputy leader Scott Hamilton, who is also a Conservative, said: "People are being asked to pay increases in council tax for these services, so we have to make sure they are getting value for money - and that means making every department as slick as we possibly can.

"We have no plans for compulsory redundancies - every staff member I speak to understands the pressures we're under and staff morale is high."

Other cost-cutting and money-generating plans include taking the most expensive school transport contracts in-house, above inflation increases in fees and charges, and reducing the number of out-of-area care placements for people with complex needs.

Independent councillor Robin Tatler believes every opportunity to save money has been taken, leaving no option but to impose the 8.5% council tax increase.

He said: "The easy saving have been made in previous years and we are making no reductions in services, so the only way to fund this is to increase council tax.

"There is always support there if people are struggling."

In previous years all parties (Conservative, SNP, Lib-Dem and Independents) have agreed on finalised proposals before they are publicly released.

This year the SNP group walked out of discussions at the 11th hour over plans not to increase the council tax levy on second homes in line with empty properties.

While owners of empty homes will face a 300% levy on the base level of council tax - up from 200% - holiday home owners will have to pay 225%.

Elaine Thornton-Nicol, who leads the SNP group at Newtown St Boswells, said: "I have a real issue with the softer rises for people with second homes approach and let's hammer everyone else with 8.5% council tax increases.

"There was an opportunity here for us not to increase council tax by as much and it's been missed."

Scottish Borders Council draft budget will be discussed and voted on at a full meeting on 19 February.

Over the next few weeks councils across Scotland will set their council tax for the coming year.

This year they have complete freedom to put up the charge by whatever figure councillors agree.

As was the case last year, the Scottish government is making no attempt to freeze the charge or limit increases.

But the Scottish government had expressed a hope that there would be no large rises.

Scottish Borders is thought to be the first council to publicly propose a substantial rise this year - the 8.5% figure is more than 2.5 times the current rate of inflation.

A paper for councillors in West Lothian spelled out a number of possible options, including what a 10% rise might mean.

There is one basic question any council proposing such a rise must be prepared to answer: will local voters support it?

Will it help to avoid unpopular cuts to services or perhaps even lead to improvements or investment?

If voters do not back the rise, who will they blame? The council or the Scottish government which gives councils much of their cash?

If there are large rises across Scotland, this could well become an issue in May's Holyrood elections.

The SNP promised to replace the council tax when it first came to power in Holyrood in 2007. The system has been modified but finding a workable alternative which everyone agrees on has been easier said than done.

However it can point to several years of freezes and limited increases.