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Three Scottish councils to maintain tax freeze | |
(about 13 hours later) | |
Three Labour-run councils in Scotland are to voluntarily freeze the basic rate of council tax. | |
South Lanarkshire confirmed this morning that it would not be increasing bills. | |
Inverclyde and Renfrewshire Councils are expected to do the same this afternoon. | |
The councils argue they are helping family budgets but the move could leave them open to criticism from anti-austerity campaigners. | |
BBC Scotland's local government correspondent Jamie McIvor said any council which froze the council tax could find it hard to attack the Scottish government over the level of council funding. | |
However, local authorities may believe the move will prove popular locally or demonstrate efficiency. | |
Four other councils, including Labour-run Glasgow and Fife, look set to raise bills by 3% today. | |
Angus, which is run by the SNP, and Highland are also set to raise bills. | |
There is also speculation Labour-run Aberdeen Council will opt for a freeze in the basic rate of council tax when it sets its budget next week. | |
The Scottish government gave councils the power to raise the basic rate of council tax by up to 3%. Bills have not gone up anywhere in Scotland since 2007. | |
Around a quarter of people will pay more regardless of their local council's decisions. | |
Bills in properties in Bands E to H will rise automatically through national changes to the way council tax is calculated which have been made by the Scottish government. | |
By Wednesday, seven councils had opted to put up the basic rate of council tax by 3% costing a typical billpayer £3-4 a month. | |
SNP-run Aberdeenshire Council opted for a smaller rise of 2.5%. |