West Lothian Council budget approves increase in council rents from April

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Council rents will rise three per cent to an average of £80.70 for the next year as West Lothian Council set its budget to come into force in April.It will mean an average weekly rent increase of £2.35.The minority Labour administration won support of the Tory group and independent councillor to pass the rent increase – the last by the current administration and the last in a five-year rent strategy agreed following a consultation with tenants in 2017.There has been ongoing consultation every year since then but the SNP opposition group tabled an amendment demanding a freeze in rent rises citing the squeeze on household budgets with the spiralling cost of living and in the wake of the Covid Pandemic.Depute SNP group leader Councillor Frank Anderson lambasted the description of the three per cent rise in rent and council tax charges as “modest.” Council tax rises and the rent rise would mean most households would lose an extra £155 a year.“We’re mugging our tenants,” he declared.His amendment said: “Presently we have 5363 tenants in arrears owing this council almost £4million.

Since 2018, this is an increase of almost 1000 in the number of tenants in arrears and an increase of over £2m in the amount of actual arrears.”It added “The SNP Group are aware that the three biggest outlays facing our constituents are rent/mortgage, Council Tax and utility bills.

This council has total control over two of these, for our tenants, and can influence the third, for the better, for our tenants.

This is the “Year of the Squeeze”, increasing inflation, astronomical increases in utility bills, freeze and cuts to benefits and many of our constituents are being driven into poverty.”The SNP group proposed instead a “year of the Freeze”.The