Council tax to rise by 7% in East Lothian

A charge will be introduced for the garden waste (brown bin collection service) by April 2024

Council tax rates in East Lothian will rise by 7% from April, it has been confirmed.

Council leader Norman Hampshire said East Lothian had a funding gap of £18.9m and was attempting to make efficiencies of £6.7m.

It will also draw on £7.4m of reserves to plug the gap next year.

The Labour councillor said it was very likely pressures would continue to build in future and the council would need to further reduce costs.

Other measures agreed by councillors included changing the household waste (green bin collection) service from a two-weekly to three-weekly service and a charge will be introduced for the garden waste (brown bin collection service) by April 2024.

Rents for council tenants will increase by 5%.