FOI Request - Council Tax Breakdown
Request 101003971149
1. A full breakdown of council tax expenditure by service area (e.g. education, social care, waste management, roads, public safety, administration, etc.)
2. The proportion (percentage and monetary value) allocated to each service
3. Details of any funding allocated to third-party organisations, contractors, or external bodies
4. Administrative and staffing costs, including senior management remuneration where available
5. Any reserves held and how these are utilised
6. A clear explanation of how council tax revenue is distributed in conjunction with funding received from the Scottish Government
Response 27-04-2026
1. & 2. A breakdown of the Council’s net revenue budget by service area for the financial year 2026/27 is published in the Council Tax information leaflet, which is available here:
http://www.moray.gov.uk/downloads/file118323.pdf
Page 6 of the leaflet sets out the Council’s revenue budget by service area (for example education, social work, waste, roads, housing and central services), alongside the sources of funding, including council tax.
Page 7 provides a visual diagram showing how the Council’s overall budget is distributed across service areas by percentage.
This published information represents the breakdown of how the Council’s overall spending is allocated by service area, by percentage and monetary value.
3. Moray Council does not provide funding to contractors in the form of grants or subsidies. Payments to contractors are made in return for services provided to the Council under legally binding contracts and are recorded as part of service expenditure.
However, the Council does provide grant funding to third party and external organisations, primarily within the third sector, to support agreed activities and outcomes.
4. Total staffing costs for Moray Council for the 2025/26 financial year are £209.903 million. These include employee pay, pension contributions, national insurance and agency staff costs.
Details of senior officer remuneration are also published in the Remuneration Report within the Annual Accounts. This includes information on senior management pay bands and severance arrangements, where applicable. All figures are subject to external audit.
The 2024/25 Annual Accounts are available on the Council’s website at the following link (Remuneration Report from page 29. Table 3 and Table 5 contains information on Senior Officers):
Annual Accounts - Moray Council http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_44100.html
The 2025/26 Annual Accounts are currently in the process of being prepared and have not yet been finalised. Once complete, they will be published on the same page and are expected to be available from 30 June 2026.
5. Moray Council holds both general reserves and earmarked reserves as part of prudent financial management.
General reserves are held to protect the Council against financial risks and unforeseen events, to support cash flow, and to maintain financial stability.
Earmarked reserves are set aside for specific purposes, such as planned future expenditure, major projects, known commitments, or to manage financial risks and timing differences.
Details of the level of reserves held at the end of each financial year, together with an explanation of the purpose of significant earmarked reserves and how reserves are utilised, are published in the Council’s Annual Accounts. These accounts are subject to external audit.
The most recent available information is contained in the 2024/25 Annual Accounts, which can be found on the Council’s website at the link provided. Note 27 Usable reserves (page 78 of the 2024/25 annual accounts) has more detail. A summary of the Reserves is also shown on the Balance Sheet (page 45). As noted above, the 2025/26 Annual Accounts are currently being prepared and will be published once finalised.
An update on the Council's usable earmarked reserves is reported to committee quarterly. The 2024/25 Revenue Out-turn Variances from Budget reported to Moray Council on 25 June 2025 details the closing balance of other earmarked reserves at 31 March 2025 in Appendix 4. These balances became the opening balances at 1 April 2025, and a similar report will be reported to Full Council on 30 June 2026 giving final closing balances of reserves at 31 March 2026.
Report to Moray Council on 25 June 2025 linked here Revenue Out-Turn Variances from Budget
https://moray.cmis.uk.com/Moray/Document.ashx?czJKcaeAi5tUFL1DTL2UE4zNRBcoShgo=2Xa7zHHbUnMytDAsL4eDoXLPOi%2bRi5nihq4PxeCcrfe5gQzQfvbclA%3d%3d&rUzwRPf%2bZ3zd4E7Ikn8Lyw%3d%3d=pwRE6AGJFLDNlh225F5QMaQWCtPHwdhUfCZ%2fLUQzgA2uL5jNRG4jdQ%3d%3d&mCTIbCubSFfXsDGW9IXnlg%3d%3d=hFflUdN3100%3d&kCx1AnS9%2fpWZQ40DXFvdEw%3d%3d=hFflUdN3100%3d&uJovDxwdjMPoYv%2bAJvYtyA%3d%3d=ctNJFf55vVA%3d&FgPlIEJYlotS%2bYGoBi5olA%3d%3d=NHdURQburHA%3d&d9Qjj0ag1Pd993jsyOJqFvmyB7X0CSQK=ctNJFf55vVA%3d&WGewmoAfeNR9xqBux0r1Q8Za60lavYmz=ctNJFf55vVA%3d&WGewmoAfeNQ16B2MHuCpMRKZMwaG1PaO=ctNJFf55vVA%3d
6. Moray Council’s services are funded from a combination of council tax, Scottish Government funding, and other income (such as fees, charges and specific grants). Council tax income is not allocated to individual services. Instead, it forms part of the Council’s overall funding and is pooled with Scottish Government funding to support the delivery of all council services. Each year, the Council agrees how this total budget will be spent across all services, such as education, social care, waste collection and road maintenance. This is done through the annual budget setting process, which is approved by elected councillors. Details of the Council’s budget and how money is spent are published in the Council Tax leaflet and the Annual Accounts on the Council’s website.