7th March 2025
Highland council agreed a 7% increase in Council Tax, one of the lowest increases in Scotland, with 2% of this allocated to create capital investment fund for schools and roads as part of the Highland Investment Plan.
Members agreed a budget which will see over £4.5 million of revenue investments for 2025 - 2026, over £17 million additional reserves investment for major developments and the creation of over 100 jobs across the Highlands.
The squeeze on spending is sill going on with a package of an additional £14 million savings, efficiencies and income generation was agreed, without the need for use of Reserves to balance the budget. This will add to existing saving plans, resulting in a total of £36.7m to be delivered over 3 years. These new savings are described under the themes of improvements to our operating model, efficiencies and mechanisms to generate additional income for the council.
Leader of the Council Raymond Bremner said: "I am delighted that Members have today supported the creation of a Poverty and Equality Commission for the Highland area, underpinned by £870k, to focus on tackling poverty and inequality across Highland communities. This in addition to our planned investment programme will help to sustain our Highland communities, with affordable homes, better access to renewable energy, job opportunities and economic prosperity."
Convener of the Council Bill Lobban said: "Long term financial planning has enabled us to be in the position today of being able to invest rather than cut. Our savings and income generation plans will mean we can focus a large proportion of our Reserves on investing in huge projects such as an £8m energy investment fund and a £6m transport expansion fund, which will benefit Highland people for many years to come."
Key Investments include
The creation of a Poverty and Equality Commission for the Highland area, with £870k of revenue and reserve funding associated with specific developments to focus on tackling poverty
£2.3 million in education (focusing on school improvement and additional support needs, £0.3m of which is aligned with the tackling poverty theme)
The investment of an additional £250k to increase the funding for respite provision across the Highland area.
Major upgrades to grass cutting and local amenities service (£450k)
The reinstatement of the Council Access Ranger Service for 2025-26 (£655k)
The establishment of community touch down and access for staff across a number of locations, as part of our work to develop a more integrated offering more locally for the public (£500k)
£8 million energy investment fund will be created to enable on-going revenue from Renewables
£6 million expansion fund will be created to enable the expansion of the provision of our in-house bus services
£500k Repair the Highlands fund to support and enable community based recycling schemes
£2 million fund to increase the numbers of teachers in line with national policy
Pressures
As the cost of delivering services continues to increase, we are seeking ways to manage the increased pressures this creates. Over £20 million is being set aside to manage service level pressures, to ensure that the public can be confident that services will be sustained.
Headline Allocations of Pressures
£1.650m for waste services to enable transformation and manage the change in legislation in relation to the landfill ban
£3.000m to reduce the pressures on Adult Social Care and create more space for transformational planning to be brought forward, supporting previous investments
£3.548m to manage the increased costs of services plus £3.140m due to inflationary uplifts
Additional Savings
£2.304m savings to be delivered over three years connected to establishing our future council operating models
£3.810m is to be saved over the three-year period through further planned efficiencies
£7.974m is expected to be raised through further income generation activities.
The full budget report can be found on the Council's website -
https://www.highland.gov.uk/meetings/committee/52/the_highland_council