Council Tax and Spending

The council budget

Every year the council agrees Council Tax charges and allocations of funding to council service areas for the 12 months ahead.

The council must set a balanced budget, meaning that our spending plans must be met through our expected revenue.  This has become increasingly difficult in recent years as rising demand for our services, along with growing costs of delivering these and meeting the needs of our growing population have not been matched through increases in our funding.

The money you pay in Council Tax generates around 25% of our income.

• Council Tax – 25%
• Grants allocated by Scottish Government (including business rates) – 75%

For the coming year, East Lothian Council will continue to receive the third lowest amount of government funding per person when compared against other councils in Scotland.

Budget headlines

• Council Tax will increase by 10% for 2025/26.  This will mean an increase of £2.76 per week for an average property in East Lothian.
• The increase will enable investment in core council services including adult social care, children’s services and education.
• Although the General Revenue Grant (GRG) received from the Scottish Government will increase by £17m, the majority of this funding is directed to specific areas including:
  • £3.2 million additional funding notified through the draft settlement which the Council must passport to the IJB;
  • £4.6m for increased employer national insurance costs;
  • £2.4m to support new policy commitments; and
  • £1.2m to support existing policy commitments
• The budget also reflects planned efficiencies of £8.9 million to be delivered over the next 5 years.

(please note that the above information is based on the provisional local government finance settlement information available at the time the budget for 2025/26 onwards was set)

• A £211.104m programme of capital investment in local infrastructure is planned over the next five years.
• There will be a 6.5% increase in rent levels in 2025/26 for tenants living in council properties.  Rents in East Lothian will remain among the lowest in Scotland and support investment in new build council housing.
• A £178.794m programme of investment in council housing, including significant expenditure on new homes and the modernisation or extension of others is planned over the next five years
• The financial position of the council remains extremely challenging, with rising costs of delivering services not being met through increases in our income.  It has therefore been necessary to draw on £8m of reserves to smooth debt charges in 2025/26.
• The council will continue to review how we do things, ensuring we remain as efficient as possible by introducing further innovation, new ways of working and helping to reduce expenditure and/or increase income.  However, the financial challenges which the council is facing over the medium term will mean that some difficult decisions will need to be made around the services which the council is able to sustain in the future.