Call to increase council tax
The acting leader of Highland Council wants the SNP group to seek permission from its own government to unfreeze council tax without incurring penalties.
David Alston, Liberal Democrat councillor for the Black Isle, wants the tax rise to pay for closure-threatened council services.
Council tax has been frozen across Scotland since the SNP took power at Holyrood in 2007 and no local authority has tried to implement a rise in that time because there are hefty financial penalties for doing so.
Now, Councillor Alston is challenging the local SNP group to "stand up" to its government in the interests of people living in the Highlands.
He said some of the council’s £20million funding black-hole could be filled by raising council tax at rate below inflation.
However, the SNP group has always defended the freeze, insisting it has helped many struggling families in the Highlands.
Mr Alston said: "The SNP in Highland ought to be prepared to stand up to the Scottish Government when it is the interests of the Highlands to do so. The ball is in their court. We can’t make progress on the budget for next year without knowing where we stand in relation to our income."
However, Richard Laird, the SNP group’s deputy leader, said it was "far too early" to make a decision on the council tax.
He said: "The SNP group will make a decision on the council tax once it becomes clear how the UK government settlement for Scotland and Scotland’s settlement for local government will look. This is far too early to be making any adjustments."
