Council which had threatened to put up council tax says charge will be frozen

A council which had been set to to defy Humza Yousaf and impose a 10% hike in council tax bills has now confirmed the charge will be frozen.

Councillors in Argyll and Bute had originally voted to increase the levy, despite Scottish First Minister having promised a nationwide freeze in the charge to help those struggling to cope amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Council leader Jim Lynch said additional cash from the Government meant the authority was now able to both freeze the council tax and protect local services.

An additional £6.26 million is being made available to the local authority for agreeing to keep council tax bills at the same level as last year.

While payments had already been taken from residents at the higher rate, Mr Lynch said bills for the remainder of 2024-25 would take this into account.

Mr Lynch became the new leader of the authority earlier this month – a deck of cards being cut to decide a split vote – with the SNP politician replacing Liberal Democrat Robin Currie in the role.

The change means Argyll and Bute is now run by a coalition of SNP, Labour and independent councillors.

Speaking after a special meeting where the freeze in council tax was confirmed, Mr Lynch said: “We are now in a position to freeze council tax this year and also save local services from cuts.

“People need council services to live well in their communities. They also need day-to-day costs to be kept down wherever possible.

“Today’s decision passes on the benefits of this new funding to our communities – council tax is frozen and council services continue to be available.”

He added: “Updated council tax bills will be issued to households setting out payments with 0% increase on last year.

“Payments for the remainder of the year will be reduced to take account of payments already made at the higher rate set in February.”