Falkirk Council: No backing for plans to increase council tax for higher band properties

Members of Falkirk Council’s executive were asked to approve a response to the Scottish Government and CoSLA’s joint Consultation on a Fairer Council Tax when they met on Tuesday.

The Scottish Government proposals say they aim to address criticism that the current Council Tax means those in the lower bands pay a higher proportion of the value of their property than those in higher bands.

If agreed this proposal would raise an additional £176 million nationally, with an estimated £4.3 million from Falkirk Council residents.

Nationally, it will impact on 28 per cent of properties nationally but 24 per cent of properties in Falkirk Council area.

Falkirk Council’s draft response said they would like to see any increases phased in over three years and stressed that a complete review of council tax bands is long overdue.

The leader of the Labour Group, Councillor Anne Hannah, said her group would not support the proposal.

She quoted a Fraser of Allander report that said: “Tweaking around the edges of the council tax does not fix its fundamental flaws”.

The Conservative group did not support her motion but proposed their own, saying that it was clear there was no consensus and suggesting that each group submitted their own response.

Speaking after the debate, Conservative group leader Councillor James Kerr said: “The SNP Government have a track-record of cutting local government spending. Now, to make up for the inevitable shortfall, their plan is to increase the taxes residents in Falkirk pay.

“The Falkirk Conservatives cannot support SNP plans to cut with one hand and steal with the other.”

The council leader, SNP councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, said that “we have to live in the real world” and criticised the opposition for not putting forward an alternative that would bring in much-needed revenue.

All Falkirk Council residents can also respond individually to consultation and the council says it will raise awareness of this through social media to encourage this.