Council Expenditure

Budget Comparison: 2024/25 vs 2025/26

Expenditure on Services

• 2024/25: £847.076 million
• 2025/26: £893.224 million
• Change: +£46.148 million

Income from Service Charges

• 2024/25: £65.634 million
• 2025/26: £74.801 million
• Change: +£9.167 million

Net Expenditure

• 2024/25: £781.442 million
• 2025/26: £818.423 million
• Change: +£36.981 million

Government Grants

• 2024/25: £442.657 million
• 2025/26: £474.483 million
• Change: +£31.826 million

Non-Domestic Rates

• 2024/25: £159.842 million
• 2025/26: £167.986 million
• Change: +£8.144 million

Contribution from Balances

• 2024/25: £27.993 million
• 2025/26: £11.578 million
• Change: -£16.415 million

Council Tax Requirement

• 2024/25: £150.950 million
• 2025/26: £164.376 million
• Change: +£13.426 million

Government Provision for Current Expenditure

The following figures are used to compare the Council’s proposed spending with the Scottish Government’s funding assumptions:

• Government’s expenditure figure per dwelling (used in Aggregate External Finance calculations): £6,598
• Highland Council’s proposed expenditure per dwelling on a comparable basis: £6,900

This comparison helps illustrate the difference between national funding benchmarks and the Council’s actual planned spending per household.