Budget consultation

Each year the council consults on its budget options, seeking views from individuals and representative groups within the community and also our workforce. The results of the consultation inform discussions as councillors work to agree the budget for the following financial year.

For the 2025-26 budget process, the consultation took place between 13 November 2024 and 17 January 2025. The focus was on twenty-four savings options that officers presented to councillors on 13 November 2024 for their consideration. Local residents were also asked to indicate the level of Council Tax rise they would accept if it meant council services could be protected.

The most popular way to take part in the consultation was through an online survey, with 2,186 responses being received. Further opportunities to participate were through a dedicated email savings@southlanarkshire.gov.uk, meetings with community groups, and a postal option. A separate consultation exercise was carried out involving more than 1,200 children and young people, the results of which can be found in the Children and young people’s voices consultation initial findings report.

In the main survey, participants were asked to give a single response to each of the saving options, either strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree. The results of this were presented as bar charts. People were also asked to pick two words to describe their feelings about each saving option, from bad, unacceptable, unnecessary, indifferent, undecided, necessary, acceptable, and good. The results of this were presented as bar charts.

See the full results in the Budget consultation feedback report below.