Budget Consultation now live

The Dundee City Council budget consultation for 2025/26 is now live.

Members of the public are invited to have their say on the local authority’s spending priorities and the level of Council Tax for the year ahead.

For the first time, people can also give their feedback on a range of specific options put forward by officers in response to the Council’s potential budget gap.

The consultation survey, including details of those savings options can be found here, or you can read the Frequently Asked Questions page on the Council website.

Participants can respond to as many or as few of the specific options as they wish.

Free internet access is available in all libraries, with IT support from staff. Citizens can also take part via paper forms available in libraries and community centres.

The Council wants to ensure that as many people as possible take part in the consultation ahead of decisions on the Council budget being set in the new year.

The detail of the Council’s funding for 2025/26 is not known at the time of launching the consultation. However, it is predicted that further savings of over £15million could be needed next year – equivalent to a 29% increase in Council Tax.

The Council will have a clearer indication of any gap in December when next year’s funding settlement is known and details of this will be made public in January in a report to elected members that sets out the implications of the settlement on the Council’s 2025/26 Budget.

Council leader Mark Flynn said: “The decisions that elected members will have to make in order to set a balanced budget are more challenging than ever.

“As a local authority, we’ve already found savings and efficiencies of around £171m since 2008. And it’s possible we may need to identify another £15.6m of savings for next year.

“Your council delivers a vast range of services which impact on everyone in the city, from the youngest to the oldest. We educate children, provide social care, maintain roads, collect waste and so much more.

“As demand increases and our costs grow, we increasingly need to prioritise our finite resources on the services that make the most difference to people’s lives.

“That means making some incredibly difficult choices. Before we do that, we want to hear from as many people as possible about what matters to them.”

This is the first time that detailed savings options have been part of the annual budget consultation. Officers and elected members are keen to understand the impact that each of them would have.

This is particularly the case for those who have characteristics protected by law: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

However, everyone who lives and works in Dundee is encouraged to share their thoughts before the consultation closes on December 29.

Councillor Flynn added: “We’ve seen that consultations can make a real difference.

“If you have an opinion that you want to share on spending priorities, Council Tax or any of the officer options then the budget consultation is the way to do that.

“It’s important to stress that no decisions have been taken. What we need to do is listen to the views of people, to understand their priorities and any impacts that changes will have on them.

“The more people who take part, and the more detailed feedback given, the more informed our decision making will be.”

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