Nine percent. Let that number settle in your mind for a moment, especially if you’re one of the folk in Midlothian waking up to a bigger council tax bill this year. It’s a hefty increase, an extra £12.50 a month for a Band D property, and it’s a stark reminder of the tightrope our local councils are walking.
The decision itself was a proper stushie, a real political drama played out in the council chambers. It came down to a knife-edge vote, with a former Conservative councillor, David Virgo, crossing the floor, so to speak, to back the SNP budget. That meant a 9-9 tie, leaving Provost Debbi McColl with the unenviable task of casting the deciding vote to push through the 9 percent rise.
I can only imagine the pressure on those councillors. Council leader Kelly Parry wasn’t shy about the difficult position they found themselves in, stating it wasn’t a casual decision. She said: "I want to be very clear to the public, the recommendation to increase council tax by 9 per cent is not a figure the councillors choose, or arrive at randomly, casually or without thought and consideration."
It sounds to me like they felt utterly boxed in, with few other choices on the table. Councillor Parry went on to explain that reducing the increase would have required "more income from other sources". She even pointed out that without dipping into over £4 million of the council’s reserves, the increase would have been a staggering 16 percent. That’s a figure that would have caused absolute uproar, I’m sure.
But for all the talk of percentages and budgets, what truly hits home for me is the human cost, especially when you consider the state of our health and social care services. The Labour group had pushed for an additional £1.793 million for these vital services, arguing that the most vulnerable in our society are being let down.
Councillor Derek Milligan painted a grim picture, sharing stories that would break your heart. He spoke of an elderly woman in her seventies, forced to carry her disabled husband to the toilet at night because she couldn’t get a care package. He also highlighted a situation where a man with a bed-bound wife, needing to be turned every four hours, couldn’t secure help. Milligan’s words resonated deeply with me when he said: "We are letting down the most vulnerable people in our society."
It’s a truly awful situation, and it speaks volumes about the pressures on our care system. Even Councillor Parry acknowledged the deep concerns about the service, saying: "This is still an ongoing concern with recurring overspends in the IJB and it is difficult to see how this is not going to be repeated in the next financial year without additional resources." It’s clear as day that the problem isn’t going away.
This whole situation in Midlothian, it’s a microcosm of a much bigger problem facing local authorities right across Scotland. I’ve written before about how Local Councils Are Running Out of Money: What Happens Next? and it seems the ‘next’ is often a hefty council tax hike for the residents, or a cut to essential services, or both.
It makes you wonder about the long-term sustainability of local services, doesn’t it? The political scene shifts, candidates sense opportunity ahead of elections, but the fundamental issues of funding remain stubbornly in place. The decisions made at Holyrood inevitably ripple down to our communities, and it’s a constant balancing act between national priorities and local needs, a theme I often explore in my thoughts on Scottish Politics: Power, Policy, and the Path Forward.
It’s not just Midlothian; the challenges of funding local services are a nationwide concern, as you can see from the Scottish Government’s own policies on local government finance. And for those wanting to look deeper into their local council’s specific budget, the Midlothian Council website offers a wealth of information.
Ultimately, this 9 percent increase isn’t just a number on a spreadsheet; it’s a burden on households already struggling with the cost of living. It’s a symptom of a system under immense strain, where the difficult choices are being passed down to the folk on the ground. There are no easy answers here, only tough choices and the inescapable truth that when the books don’t balance, it’s often the ordinary people who end up paying the price, both financially and the services they rely on.
