OIC charge hike set to hit school meals, burials and leisure

Parents could pay up to £15.40 per child, each week, to keep them fed at school, as Orkney Islands Council (OIC) moves to raise service charges by ten per cent.

While ferry fares, car parking and electric vehicle charges, and home care fees are among those services exempt from the hike, a number of other services provided by the local authority are set to increase in cost.

Other items on OIC’s register of charges not excluded from the hike include burial fees, swimming pool and leisure centre charges, and camping site costs.

This comes as the council faces a challenging budget. Last Thursday, OIC policy and resources committee agreed to increase its draw on its reserve funds to £17.4million, as well as increasing council tax and public service charges by ten per cent.

The budget is due to be rubber-stamped at a meeting of the full council next month.

More on this in The Orcadian, available in shops and online from Wednesday afternoon.