Scots face biggest council tax increases in 20 years as John Swinney blames 'enormous financial pressures'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots face the biggest hikes in council tax in 20 years as five of the biggest local authorities agree budget deals today.Ratepayers in Glasgow face an increase of 7.5 per cent while those living in the Borders will pay 10 per cent more.

Fife has approved a hike of 8.2 per cent.Edinburgh is expected to agree an eight per cent rise while a 10 per cent rise has been mooted in North Lanarkshire.East Lothian Council has already voted to increase bills for its residents by 10 per cent from April.Citizens Advice Scotland warned the tax rises risk putting more people into arrears.Experts have also predicted even bigger increases in council tax may be required in the future if investment in local services is to keep pace with England.It comes as John Swinney blamed "enormous financial pressures" caused by the previous Tory government at Westminster for the perilous state of many councils across Scotland.Asked by the Record if the hikes were a result of years of SNP-imposed freezes on council tax, Swinney said: "We have given a real-terms increase in core funding to local government."The overall package for local government is a billion pounds extra.

Now, I accept there will be increases in council tax. There will also be variations around the country."I think the Government is investing in and supporting local authorities.

But obviously we've had to deal with enormous financial pressures. We've all forgotten about 14 years of austerity we've had to live through from the UK Government."What we're doing now is investing in local government to strengthen the delivery of local public services." A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found “core spending power” for local government and schools in England is set to