Spending on council services

Midlothian Council has approved a balanced budget for 2022/23, with revenue spending on services this year set to be £251 million. The biggest spend will be in education (£109.7 million), and health and social care (£56.4 million).

Budget gap

The council’s funding from the Scottish Government for 2022/23 is £184.107 million, which represents a real terms reduction in core funding year-on-year. As a result, councillors have had to use “fiscal flexibility” to meet a projected gap in the budget of £9.727 million.

Council Tax

£1.369 million of this will be funded from a council tax rise of 2.38%, equivalent to a Band D increase of 65p per week from April 2022. The Midlothian Council Tax for a Band D property is £1,442.60 compared to last year's level of £1,409.

Other measures

Other measures approved by the council to meet the budget gap include using £2 million from uncommitted, earmarked reserves, and deferring debt repayments to secure an additional £6.358 million.

Welfare Fund

The council has also approved a one-off addition of £0.25 million to the 2022/23 budget to supplement the Scottish Welfare Fund in Midlothian, which provides grants to people in crisis.

More information

• Link to budget papers from 15 February 2022 meeting of the full Council