The council has also committed £19.5m for flooding schemes over the next ten years and design work is underway on others so that the council is in the best position possible to bid for Scottish Government funding when it becomes available.

Elsewhere, more than £13m is earmarked for new pool and leisure facilities in West Fife following the closure of Woodmill and Inverkeithing high schools

The council also agreed:

• investment of £210.739m over the next four years 2025-29 to help maintain existing council housing across Fife
• investment of £239.412m to extend the Affordable Housing Programme to March 2029 and the additional borrowing required to support this
• investment of £4.810m to extend a programme to purchase more council housing to March 2026 and the additional borrowing required to support this

A council tax rise of 8.2% and a rent increase of 6% will help to pay for these investments across the Kingdom and bridge a budget gap of over £5m. 

Councillor Judy Hamilton, spokesperson for Housing, said any increase in the current financial climate was a difficult one to make but that it was an essential move to support Fife’s under-pressure housing services.

“Good quality housing is absolutely fundamental — never more so than during a housing emergency,” she said. “People deserve warm, safe homes that are affordable, especially those on the lowest incomes. We have a duty to ensure no one is left behind, and that every tenant in Fife can live with dignity and security.”

Council leader David Ross explained: “We have to strike a balance between making savings, raising council tax and continuing essential investment in our services for local people.

“Fife’s health and social care partnership is facing huge financial challenges and urgent investment is needed alongside our partners NHS Fife. We have to make sure that those in most need have the right care and support.

“We are also continuing to invest in maintaining and improving Fife’s roads. An additional £9m will be invested over the next three years.

“The challenging financial landscape and the fact that we had to freeze council tax last year meant, this year, we were considering council tax increases of almost 10%. However, recognising the impact this would have on Fifers, with some careful financial management we have brought this down to 8.2% for this financial year with potential rises of 5% for the next two years.”

Cllr Ross added: “We have had to make some tough choices and we’ll continue to make savings. Our ambitious 10-year capital plan which funds major projects and maintains assets including roads, schools and other buildings will continue to be reviewed as costs are still rising. We’ll have to cut back on some planned projects but overall we’ll continue to invest over £870m over the next 10 years in the Kingdom’s infrastructure.

“There’s no doubt that we are continuing to operate in a time of real financial uncertainty but we believe the budget we’ve set today strikes the best balance between making budget savings and increasing council tax to sustain and improve services over the next three years.”