Wednesday November 4th 2026
Scottish Borders council building
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
A series of financial “assumptions” for Scottish Borders Council in 2027/28 will be presented to elected members this week – including a five per cent hike in Council Tax.
SBC imposed a 8.5 per cent Council Tax increase for the current financial year.
When members of full council meet on Thursday, November 5, they will be updated on budget planning assumptions for the year from April next year.
They include the “assumption” that Council Tax will rise by five per cent, although no final decision has been made as budget consultations are still ongoing.
Members will be told that the levy currently accounts for 20 per cent of the local authority’s budget.
SBC currently has a Band D charge for Council Tax of £1,618.52 per annum in 2026/27.
Despite recent increases SBC’s rate remains the eighth lowest Council Tax charge in Scotland and the 6th lowest in mainland Scotland.
A report to members, from Suzy Douglas, SBC’s director of finance, states: “Each one per cent increase in Council Tax provides circa £845k to the council to support delivery of council services, so an increase of 10 per cent would generate an additional £8.45m.
“The council has already assumed a five increase which equates to £4m of additional Council Tax income already included within the provisional financial plan for 2027/28.”
The report outlines the financial challenge facing the council and sets out an approach to balancing the budget.
It adds: “The longer-term corporate approach to the budget, which has been adopted over the past decade, has delivered significant cost reductions and increased income of over £100m.
“These significant reductions have ensured the council has balanced its budget in each of the last 10 years although it is recognised that this task is becoming more challenging each year.
“The forthcoming budget round will again very challenging for the council given significant cost pressures including pay, inflation, service demand pressures and the ongoing reduction to Scottish Government funding as a result of the settlement changes to Social Care during the 2026/27 budget process.
“The latest long-term revenue forecast which accompanied the current 2026/27 financial plan assumed a budget gap of £69m over the next 10 years.
“Consequently, continuing the robust corporate approach to the budget focussed on transforming council services, investment in new technology to reduce costs, greater operational efficiency, new ways of working and the prioritisation of core council services will be essential.”
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