The council is currently facing a funding shortfall of up to £15.97 million for 2024/25. This is assuming that a potential 5% Council Tax freeze is fully funded and is on top of making savings of more than £118m over the previous 12 years.

It means that services are likely to be affected in order to set a balanced budget.

Over recent months, the council has held an online budget Challenge, which allowed residents to set their own ‘virtual council budget’. The aim was to give residents and communities a chance to tell us where their priorities might lie if they were the ones making the decisions. It also aimed to increase people’s awareness of the budget process and get an understanding of the difficult choices councillors must make when setting a budget.

And, on Tuesday, January 30, the council held an engagement session with local community representatives to discuss the 2024/25 Budget and get their thoughts.

Councillor Christina Larsen, cabinet member for Finance and Procurement, said: “Following on from the Covid pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and high inflation, no one has escaped the financial impact, including the council.

“As costs continue to rise alongside a rising demand for our services, it’s clear that our budget comes under increasing pressure.

“There are no easy solutions and tough choices will have to be made.

“That’s why it’s been so important to get the views of our communities and understand their priorities before all elected members meet to set next year’s budget.”

Following on from the engagement, it was clear that communities appreciated the difficult financial challenge facing North Ayrshire. The Budget Challenge results showed that residents wanted to safeguard many key services including roads, waste collection, school catering and early learning and additional support needs. They were also open to the idea of additional charges to raise funds and offset potential cuts to services.

Many participants also left supporting comments on how the council can provide the best value for money in its budget and the results of these exercises have been shared with elected members.

Elected Members will meet on February 28 to consider the 2024/25 Budget for North Ayrshire.