Details
Last night Council met to set our 2026/2027 Budget while also considering our AI Policy and whether to grant the World Cup Public Holiday.
Councillors agreed that an additional public holiday for the World Cup on Monday 15 June 2026 would not be granted.
While I know many of you will be disappointed, if the public holiday had been awarded it would have had significant financial implications for the Council and caused disruption to the delivery of Council, HSCP and EDLCT services. When reviewing the impact of giving this potential additional public holiday, it was estimated that it would cost the Council £104,000 which would lead to additional pressures during what is already a challenging financial position.
The World Cup is a huge event for the country and employees may request annual leave for Monday 15 June in accordance with our standard policies and procedures. Line Managers will do their best to accommodate these requests while making sure that operational service levels are maintained.
Last night Council also committed to spending £395.641 million on delivering essential local services and important investment in East Dunbartonshire for 2026/27.
To deliver this significant investment whilst decreasing the Budget gap of £23.946 million, a rise of 9.5% in Council Tax was agreed.
This increase includes 3% to support the critical financial position the local HSCP is in, helping it to continue to deliver vital social care services to the most vulnerable residents in East Dunbartonshire.
The 2026/2027 Revenue Budget and Capital Programme will:
- Maintain key local services
- Continue improvement works across the school estate, with the ongoing construction of Balmuildy Primary School, completion of the Milngavie Primary School refurbishment and preconstruction works for the new Westerton Primary School
- Invest in vital infrastructure, including the commencement of the Westerhill Development Road and Bishopbriggs town centre redevelopment programme
- Invest £1 million to bring forward design proposals for new sports pavilions and associated facilities in Oakburn Park, Milngavie, and Merkland, Kirkintilloch
- Reinstate the Community Grants Scheme, benefiting local grassroots groups and organisations following the end of UK Shared Prosperity Funding.
The Housing Revenue and Capital Budget for 2026/2027 was also set, which will see £9.57 million of investment across the existing housing estate, £32.4 million towards building new affordable homes in the area and £4 million for purchasing properties on the open market.
Council also agreed to improve the standard of void decoration, moving to a full decoration standard which will improve the look and feel of properties.
Finally, our AI Policy was approved, detailing the approach that will be taken to ensure the safe, ethical and responsible use of AI across the Council. Guidance is being developed and will be made available to all employees to ensure appropriate use and governance of this technology.
Once again, I would like to thank everyone for their understanding, support and hard work as we developed Budget proposals – allowing Council to set a balanced Budget for the year ahead.
You can read the Council Leader’s Budget Speech in full and our news releases on both Budgets on our website by visiting the links below.
Council Budget Speech
Council Revenue and Capital Budget
Housing Revenue Budget and Capital Budget
Thank you,
Ann Davie
Chief Executive
