Council budget 2024/25

Dumfries and Galloway Council has agreed its budget and set the council tax level for financial year 2024/25.

At a meeting of Full Council on Tuesday 27 February, elected members voted to freeze council tax for the financial year 2024/25 while protecting frontline services.

Due to a combination of a reduction in funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement plus inflationary and service cost-pressures, the council faces an estimated funding gap of £30 million over the next three years.

To meet the shortfall in the coming year, Dumfries and Galloway Council will draw upon £6.46M of existing reserves in a bid to protect council services.

In addition, the council will implement a range of revenue-raising measures - from a 100% rise in council tax charges for second homes to increases on selected fees and charges relating to registrars, planning and building warrants and harbours.

Elected members also agreed to £6.48M of additional investment, including an extra £1.05M on improving the region's roads, £1.49M for Children and Families Social Work and £1.83M of cost-of-living support.

The budget reflects the council's commitment to the following expenditure on capital investment projects:

  • An additional £11M to increase the Dumfries High School project budget to £56M to enable the project to progress to construction.
  • An allocation of £7.6M to support the work required to remove RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) from all council buildings over the period 2024/25 to 2026/27.
  • An allocation of £11.2M to enable a new Household Waste Recycling Centre and waste-bulking facility to be created to support the council's agreed Waste Strategy and increase recycling rates.
  • Increased investment in existing council assets - such as including roads, schools and vehicles - of £10M over the next 10 years in addition to the £23M allocated as part of the 2023/24 budget.

You can find out more on the Latest news section of our website. And if you want to examine the fine detail of the agreed budget, click here.

 

Page last updated: 27/02/2024
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