Wednesday February 25th 2026
West Lothian Council headquarters
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
The annual Council Tax for West Lothian households in Band D is set to rise to £1,627.59 after the 7.4 percent increase agreed by the full council yesterday.
The budget agreement was less than the original proposed by the ruling minority Labour-led administration.
And while many neighbouring councils have yet to make their final decision it looks as if the county will remain at the lower end of the national scale. It is a currently around ninth lowest out of 32 councils in Scotland.
East Lothian Council also set its budget yesterday, opting for a 7.5 percent increase, well down on the 10 percent originally feared by residents there.
For the Band D average, the West Lothian household will have to find an extra £9.34 a month, or £2.16 a week. The 7.4 percent represents a rise of £112.14 a year from the 2025/26 bill of £1,515. 45.
The vast majority – 62 percent- of Council Tax payers will pay less than this, with average weekly increases from £1.44 to £1.92 in Bands A to C.
Those in homes in the highest bracket, Band H, will see their Council Tax bill rise £274.74 to an annual charge of £3,987.60- an extra £22.90 a month.
The Council Tax Reduction Scheme provides mitigation to those who cannot afford to pay the full amount. Answering a question from Conservative group leader Councillor Damian Doran-Timson, the Finance Director Alasdair Black confirmed the the CTRS would cost more than £11m in the coming financial year.
In West Lothian households 74 percent of properties in West Lothian are in bands A to D. Of those band A to D properties 47 percent of households are in receipt of a form of discount or exemption. And 16 percent of households in bands A to D are in receipt of CTRS.
The council has to make total savings of £18.9million over the next two years.
Insufficient funding from the Scottish Government and rising costs are piling the pressure on funding and the decision councillors will have to make when they meet on Tuesday morning.
The money raised from the increase in Council Tax will be ploughed into the surging costs of adult and elderly social care packages for the most vulnerable and an investment in machinery and staffing to form a dedicated repairs team to tackle potholes.
More vulnerable adults and older people need care and support and an increasing number of people need more complex packages of care and for longer. The cost of providing social care is also increasing.
West Lothian faces one of the fastest‑growing older populations in Scotland. It is expected that the number of over 75s in West Lothian will increase by 39 percent by 2028, compared to a national average of around 21 percent. This is creating unprecedented demand for social care packages, home care, residential care and support for adults with complex needs.
The additional Council Tax income will help avoid some of the most detrimental savings which will be considered by the Integration Joint Board (IJB), which oversees social care.
Around £4m will go to these two areas in the next two years. There are no figures for next year’s proposed rise but it is expected to be less. The initial proposals put forward by the administration before the budget indicated 8.4% this year, with a lower percentage planned for 27/28.
Addressing the full council on Tuesday Council Leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick, the Labour group leader said it was the toughest budget he had seen in 27 years in local government.
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