Inverclyde residents will see their council tax jump by 7.9 per cent in the upcoming financial year after the local authority’s increase and two-year budget was agreed.
The rise for 2026/27 and further indicative rise of 7.9 per cent for 2027/28, recommended by the members budget working group, received unanimous backing among councillors on Thursday.
It will mean the Band D charge – used as a general measure – will surge from £1,551.30 to £1,673.85 for 2026/27, representing an extra £122.55 annually.
Spending plans and savings were rubber-stamped at Inverclyde Council’s special meeting – with roughly 26 full-time equivalent jobs due to go – as well as a 7.5 per cent increase in charges in 2026/27 and 2027/28.
Labour council leader Stephen McCabe said: “I don’t think any of us would see a 7.9 per cent rise in council tax as an easy option, though it is lower than the 8.67 per cent increase in charges approved by Scottish Water.
“While around a quarter of households will face no increase in their bills, we know that rises of this magnitude will impact on family finances.
“We also know that increases in charges will impact on families and businesses who use council services.”
Referencing the £77 million of savings made by the council since 2008, Councillor McCabe continued: “There simply isn’t any fat to cut … Even those savings that we are proposing are not pain-free.
“They involve the loss of 26 posts and will impact on our capacity to respond to the needs of the community.
“We will be asking our staff to work harder … and it will impact on the level of service we can provide in some areas.”
He later said: “Council tax only funds 14 per cent of the cost of our services.
“The vast majority of funding comes from the Scottish Government and when the Scottish Government cuts our funding, we have to increase council tax and, if we don’t cut services on top of that, then council tax rises would be even greater.”
The council has reiterated the measures will “avoid the worst” of the suggested cuts that were included in a recent public consultation.
Of those set out in that exercise, 14 options will be taken forward – such as cessation of the home link workers service and closing the I Youth Zone building in Greenock – featuring a total saving of £1.575m over 2026/27 and 2027/28.
Councillor McCabe added: “We have used a significant part of savings we have made to try to improve services in other areas.
“We are providing £800,000 in 2026/27 to support services for children and young people looked after by the health and social care partnership, with a further £500,000 planned for 2027/28.
“That is on top of the £700,000 we allocated last year for the same purpose … We are building in £300,000 to our base budget to enhance out of school provision for children and young people with additional support needs.”
