Funding incentives to freeze council tax

Dec 5 2008 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

THE Scottish Government is offering Perth and Kinross Council a multi-million pound funding incentive to freeze council tax for the next two financial years 2009/10 and 2010/11.

A report to the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources confirmed that negotiations between the Scottish Government, COSLA and councils should ensure council tax levels are frozen across Scotland.

“Included within the settlement figures for Perth and Kinross Council is £4,308,000 of funding in 2009/10 and £6,461,000 of funding in 2010/11 which will only be made available to the Council should it agree to freeze Council Tax at 2007/20008 levels,” reports the council’s head of finance John Symon.

Councillors will have the duty of confirming council tax levels on National Council Tax Setting Day on Thursday, February 12, the date agreed by COSLA leaders.

That meeting will draw a line under months of calculations and negotiations among council departments to fix future revenue budgets in line with various pressures on council cash, including projected payroll pressures, increases in fuel and energy costs, and a projected reduction in the growth of the council tax base.

For next year’s revenue funding from the Scottish Government, Perth and Kinross Council is allocated £253.7million – a 5.2% increase on the current year. This increase as a result of the Single Outcome Agreement for Perth and Kinross is above the 4.4% increase for Scotland overall.

The following year, 2010/11, the increase for Perth and Kinross (5.4%) is an even greater difference than the 3.7% increase in a national context.

Perth and Kinross will also receive increases in the amount of capital grant funding from the Scottish Government – totalling £9854million in 2009/10 (a 6.7% increase) and £10,489million in 2010/11 (6.4% increase).