Cost of West Lothian council services set to rise by an average of up to five per cent

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The cost of West Lothian council services, from bulky uplift to burial charges are set to rise by an average of up to five per cent from April.Councillors will meet in Livingston next Tuesday, February 25, to set this year’s revenue and capital budget for West Lothian.They will be asked to give the stamp of approval increases in a range of discretionary fees and charges likely to bring in an extra £289,000, as the council look to close a £9.9 million budget gap.Registration services could see increases generating £12,000 for council coffers.

These include the cost of registry office weddings rising from £225 to £266 per ceremony through the week and from £312 to £427 - with guests - on a Saturday.Naming services and renewal of vows ceremonies could rise from £116 to £188 Monday to Friday in a registry office and in approved venues from £245 through the week to £288.There is no planned increase in registration of births and deaths.The cost of burials could rise, with interment fees rising from £907.04 to £1,020.04 for adults.

Interment fees for cremated remains are planned to rise from £220 to £234. There are no charges for children.As the Local Democracy Reporting Service has already highlighted, the council proposes to lift the costs of bulky uplifts of five items to £50 from £38.

This will bring in £49,000.This increase would move the financial position for this discretionary service closer to full cost recovery, but the service would still require some subsidy from council budgets to deliver.On the basis of a similar five item uplift service, the council’s current charge of £38.59 is the 16th highest of the 31 councils which charge for bulky uplifts.Moving to a charge of £50 would exceed the current average charge of