Council Tax in West Lothian will increase 8.95% this year (2025/26) In brief: 👇 Council Tax helps to pay for local services but makes up only 19% of the council’s day to day budget for local services (revenue), with around 80% of our funding coming from the Scottish Government. 👉For a Band D property – an 8.95% increase in Council Tax amounts to an extra: • £124.49 per year • £10.37 per month • £2.39 per week 👇The vast majority (over 90%) of the council's budget is spent in three main services; 1. Education 2. Social Care 3. Operational Services (Roads, paths, infrastructure, street lighting, street cleansing, transport, parks and open spaces, and waste services) 👉Council Tax would have had to increase by 21% this year (2025/26) to offset the total budget gap that the council is currently facing - not the 8.95% increase which has been agreed today 👉The Council had originally planned to increase Council Tax by 5.8% this year. However, it has now been confirmed by Government that only 60% of national insurance (NI) contributions will be funded and passed down to councils, therefore an increase of 8.95% has been agreed to meet the unavoidable cost associated with changes to employee’s national insurance contributions, particularly for health and social care services 👉An 8.95% Council Tax increase will cover the 40% shortfall in National Insurance (NI) contributions and prevent a further £3 million of budget savings from local services What will your Council Tax be? Please see the graphic