Your Council Your Say

Like all councils across Scotland, West Lothian Council faces significant financial pressures.

Rising costs are combined with significant increases in demand for some services. Costs and demand are far outstripping council funding, leaving the council needing to find around £23 million through savings and income generation over the next two years.

Even with proposed additional income from Council Tax, the council would still face a significant budget funding gap.

This means substantial savings are still required to balance the books, on top of the £184 million in savings the council has made since 2007.   

The money the council spends on services must be equal to the amount of funding the council receives. Legally, the council must balance its budget, so ways to save money must be found and agreed.

Every effort is being made to ensure the council operates as efficiently and effectively as possible and that every penny of the council's budget is used to protect core services.

We want to work with our community, staff and partners to ensure that the council becomes more sustainable, addresses the funding challenges and meets the needs of our communities.

The council's consultation seeks your views on how the budget gap can be met.  

The council has a limited amount of options in terms of what choices can be made and significant challenges lie ahead. Unless Scottish Government funding increases significantly, the council has no other option but to reduce spending to bring it in line with what funding we have available.

The amount a council spends on services must be the same as the funding we receive - that is a legal requirement and after years of insufficient levels of funding provided to councils, combined with a huge increase in demand for some services, there are no easy choices.

People can take part in the consultation online via the link above on this page

If you prefer to complete and return a paper copy, the survey is included within the council's newspaper Bulletin - which is delivered to every home in West Lothian.

Paper copies can also be found within Partnership Centres. A Free Post address is included within the paper copy and will allow residents and groups to return their survey at no cost. 

The proposals outlined do not add up to exactly the amount which needs to be saved, but rather the proposals illustrate action that could be taken under five themes.

• Increasing Efficiency and Developing New Ways of Working
• Generating Income
• Reducing the Number of Council Facilities
• Responding to Demographic Change
• Reducing Spending on Non-Statutory Services 

Under each theme is a list of possible reductions.  These have come from three sources:

• Suggestions from senior management
• An analysis of savings measures implemented by other local authorities
• An analysis of the services provided by West Lothian Council, and whether they are statutory and non-statutory

No - they haven't. It is important to stress that these examples are not an agreed list of measures. The council has not agreed to implement any of these measures - they are only proposals at this stage.

Those completing the survey are asked whether they agree that these are the ways the Council should make budget savings, and if so, how they should be implemented.  If they do not agree these themes should be pursued, they are asked for suggestions on how else the Council could make the required savings.

Councillors haven't been involved in developing proposals at this stage but once the consultation closes, council officers will analyse the feedback and the results will be reported back to a meeting of West Lothian Council's Council Executive. Views and comments provided will help to shape the final budget proposals to be developed by council officers that are then presented to elected members (Councillors), and will help them to make a final decision about West Lothian Council's budget in February 2026.

Yes. All information you enter into the survey will be automatically submitted and stored by our system, even if you close the survey window or navigate away before finishing.