2026-27 Budget Consultation now live

The Dundee City Council budget consultation for 2026/27 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.

Feedback is being sought from budget consultation participants on a range of specific options put forward by officers in response to the Council’s potential budget gap.

The consultation survey includes details of the savings options and Frequently Asked Questions can be found on the Council’s 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 budget consultation comes after elected members previously considered the council's budget strategy and financial outlook which identified a funding deficit of £8.4m for next year. It is noted this deficit may increase if the Council is unable to reduce the level of overspend in the current financial year on a recurring basis or further cost pressures emerge before next year.

Any final gap will require to be made up from efficiencies, additional income including government grants or an increase in local council tax. The estimated gap is before any agreed increase in council tax, where for each 1% added to the current charge, the council would expect to generate additional income of £700,000 each year.

In the event, that the deficit cannot be fully met by those items, the council may also consider removing certain services and details of any options to do so are included in the consultation survey.

Councillor Mark Flynn, leader of Dundee City Council, said: “The decisions that elected members will have to make in order to set a balanced budget for the next year are extremely tough.

“As a local authority, we have already found savings and efficiencies of around £181m since 2008. We calculate that we may need to make further savings next year. As with households, the Council’s bills for essentials like utilities and services have also gone up.

“The Council is responsible for a wide range of services which affect people in the city’s lives, including educating children, providing social care, maintaining roads, collecting waste, and so much more.

“We are now faced with the increasing need to prioritise our finite resources on the services that make the most difference to people’s lives.

“This means making some incredibly difficult choices. In order to inform our decision making, we need as many people as possible to participate in this budget consultation exercise and tell us what matters to them.”

Detailed savings options are included in the consultation with officers and elected members keen to understand the impact that each of the proposals would have on members of the public. 

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 19th December.

Cllr Mark Flynn added: “Consultations can be really positive in giving us valuable information.

“It is important that people have a chance to have their say on the options put forward by officers and by taking part in the budget consultation they can do that. You can also tell us your thoughts on the level of Council Tax for next year.

“It should also be made clear that none of these proposals have been taken up. We need the views of people to best understand their priorities and any impacts that changes will have on them.

“The more people who take part, by giving detailed feedback, the more informed our decisions in the budget-setting process will be.”