Decision day looms for Falkirk district on council tax rise

They will look at what rate of council tax to set with the proposal from the SNP administration a rise of 13.7 per cent.

Members must also come to an agreement on what people should be charged for services, including brown bin collections, school meals and burial costs, and where they can make cuts to save money.

First Minister John Swinney has previously said that local authorities should not be raising council tax by ten per cent or more and rates should be kept “the lower, the better”.

If councillors back the proposal, the bill for a Band D home would jump from £1364 to £1551 – and annual increase of £187, while the bill for the most expensive houses in the district would rise to around £3800.

It was thought the proposed rate would be the largest increase in Scotland if it goes ahead but earlier this week, Orkney Islands Council increased its council tax by 15 per cent.

While the actual cash councils are receiving has increased this year, there are also significant rises in costs including pay awards, with the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions also impacting.

Officers say that historically, Falkirk Council has had a low level of council tax compared to the Scottish average.

In 2024/25, Falkirk had the eighth lowest council tax out of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, despite the fact that it has the 11th highest population and the 13th highest proportion of population living in deprived areas.

However, residents living in the area are also facing an increase in fees and cuts to council services. To generate additional income, officers are suggesting price increases, including a potential 10 per cent increase in parking charges, 17 per cent rise in brown bin collection fees, and an 11 per cent increase in school meal prices.

Council leader, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, said: “The council’s financial position remains incredibly challenging and we continue to face very difficult decisions. Council tax has for a sustained period of time, been one of the lowest in Scotland. As a result other councils, including those closest to us, have been bringing in between £2m and £6m revenue more annually than we have – that makes a huge difference to sustaining services and enabling investment.

“In addition we continue to have below average fees and charges in many areas coupled with above statutory provision for services, which is no longer sustainable.

“Within the proposed 13.7 per cent council tax increase that is proposed, 3.5 per cent is to cover the short fall in the funding provided by the UK Government to cover the cost of employers’ national insurance increases. There is also an additional 1.5 per cent within the council tax to fund a £15m programme of capital investment within our communities to deal with a number of pressing issues, including localised flooding, improvements in our learning estate, as well additional investment in our roads maintenance.​

The meeting of Falkirk Council takes place tomorrow at 10am in Grangemouth Community Education Centre.