Moray Council sets service charges for 2025/26
Moray Council has approved revised charges for council services in 2025/26, with a general increase of 3.6% based on inflation.
As part of the council’s Charging for Services Policy it was agreed in December 2023 that the default increase for 2024/25 and 2025/26 would be the Consumer Price Index, including owner occupiers housing costs (CPIH), from the October prior to the start of the financial year, plus 1%.
Some exceptions include adjusted fees for marriage room use to a flat rate of £145 with Saturdays being increased to £250; an interim increase for telecare services to £48 to allow for full cost recovery with a pricing restructure to be conducted. Day centre meals are also increasing by 50p and primary school meals by 10p.
Elsewhere, bulky waste uplifts are increasing by £8 to £40 to support full cost recovery; garden waste permits see an increase of £2 to £52; and commercial garden waste goes from £38 to £55 and a trade waste recycling pass will be £400.
The figures agreed are only for charges within the council’s control, some charges are set or calculated by law or limited by law. Council Tax will be set at next week’s budget setting meeting of the full council.
The full list of changes to service charges will be available online and take effect from 1 April 2025, unless otherwise stated.
Moray Council Leader, Cllr Kathleen Robertson, said of the charges: “To improve our financial stability we need to make sure we’re recovering the full cost of services provided, which hasn’t always been the case. This means increasing charges where necessary and where we might not have been used to seeing them in the past. While it’s never a pleasant thing to do, the council takes seriously its responsibility to balance the budget and develop a sustainable council for the future.”