Published Date: Feb 23rd, 2023
Fife councillors have approved a budget for 2023-24, including a council tax rise of 5% on Band D, to help plug a £11.505 million budget gap and avoid cuts to essential services. The Council will also draw on financial balances to allow one-off investment of an extra £6.448 million in priorities for the year ahead.
Today's budget (23 February) reinforces the commitment to maintaining local service levels while supporting Fifers who are most in need.
Council tax: a 5% increase on Band D is an extra £1.27 per week, taking the annual bill to £1,385.18. Other bands will increase proportionally. Find out more about council tax, water charges set by Scottish Water, benefits, council tax discounts and other help to pay bills at www.fife.gov.uk/counciltax
Council Leader David Ross said: "Fife Council is affected by increasing inflation rates, just like households and businesses around the Kingdom. Our energy bills and service costs are soaring, while more and more people are turning to us for help – inevitably our budgets are being squeezed.
“Our budget challenges are not because of poor financial management. On the contrary, through a range of budget realignments and accountancy measures we identified ways to reduce next year’s expenditure by £26million before today’s meeting. This advance work has put Fife in a stronger financial position than many Scottish councils who are forced to both increase council tax and cut services. And yet we still faced an £11.505m hole in our budget for next year.
“We’ve tried to limit increases in rent and council tax as far as possible, but an increase is necessary to avoid damaging service reductions and job losses that would also affect Fife families. I know 5% increase on band D council tax sounds a lot, but it equates to £1.27 a week on the household bill and, overall, the increase will raise £9.080m to help cover the cost of keeping local services running.
“We’re still committed to helping people cope with the rising costs of living. And we’re taking £8m from previously uncommitted balances to allow some small but important investments.
“We’ll be spending over £2.9m on hardship and cost of living support next year as well as providing permanent funding for the Café Inc services which provides free meals for all families in holiday periods. And I’d urge anyone struggling, even if you haven’t received benefits before, to check whether you’re eligible for council tax discounts or other financial support. There’s lots of information and advice online at our.fife.scot/gethelp
“We will also be investing an additional £3.5m to maintain Fife’s roads which is seen as a priority by people across the Kingdom.
“This budget addresses unavoidable financial pressures and protects our vital services, while allowing prudent investment in top public priorities.”
Extra investment for 2023-24
- £0.150m extra funding for Café Inc
- £2m towards the hardship fund
- £0.948m to support cost of living pressures
- £3.50m for roads maintenance (potholes and drainage)
- £0.761m towards the increased costs of subsidised bus contracts
- £0.216m for Fife Coast & Countryside Trust staff and to support tourism and environmental management
